Columbia  (Mnttiers^ftp 

intI)e€itpofi}lfttigork 


LIBRARY 


THE   REAL   CAPTAIN  KIDD 


THE  REAL 
CAPTAIN  KIDD 

la  Vindication 

BY 

SIR  CORNELIUS  NEALE  DALTON 

K.C.M.G.,  C.  B.,  D.C.  L. 


NEW  YORK 
DUFFIELD   AND   COMPANY 

1911 


J    'J     I      ,  I .  I «— 


copybight,  1911 
By  Duffield  and  Company 


THE   UNlVriHi'ITV    PRESS,    CAMBRIDGV.,    U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 

Chaptxr  Page 

I     Peeliminary 8 

II     The  Voyage  of  the  Adventure  Galley  39 

III  Kidd's  Return  Home 77 

IV  The  Genesis  and  Growth  of  the  Arch- 

Pirate  Myth 105 

V     Kidd's  First  Trial  at  the  Old  Bailey     141 

VI     The  Subsequent  Trials   of  Kidd   and 

His  Crew  for  Piracy 171 

VII     Kidd's  End 195 

APPENDICES 

Appendix  A .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     229 

1 .  Copy  of  the  King's  Grant  of  Pirates'  Goods. 

2.  Articles  of  Agreement  between  Bellamont, 

Levingston,  and  Kidd. 

3.  Kidd's  Sailing  Orders. 

Appendix  B 255 

1.  Kidd's  Own  Narrative  of  His  Voyage. 

2.  The  Examination  of  William  Jinkins,  Richard 

Barlycome,  and  Robert  Lumley. 

3.  The  Examination  of  Hugh  Parratt. 


CONTENTS 

Page 
Appendix  B  {continued) 

4.  The  Examination  of  Gabriel  LufF. 

5.  The  Depositions  of  Abel  Owen  and  Samuel 

Arris,  English  Smith  and  Humphry  Clay. 

Appendix  C 309 

The  French  Passes  sent  to  Bellamont  by  Kidd, 
included  amongst  the  papers  ordered  by 
the  House  of  Gammons  to  be  delivered  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty  for  the 
purposes  of  Kidd's  trial. 

1 .  The  French  Pass  taken  on  board  the  Quedagh 

or  Karry  Merchant  (le  Navire  Car  a) 

2.  The  French  Pass  taken  on  board  the  other 

prize  captured  by  Kidd. 

Appendix  D 315 

The  Report  of  Duncan  Campbell  to  Bellamont. 

Appendix  E 325 

Extracts  relating  to  Bellamont  and  Kidd  from 
Narcissus  I^uttrell's  "  Brief  Historical  Rela- 
tion of  State  Affairs  from  September,  l678,  to 
April,  1714." 


VI 


/ 

^ 


<t^      <^^i 


CHAPTER    ONE 


The  Real  Captain  Kidd 


CHAPTER   I 

PBELIMINARY 

TT  is  to  be  feared  that  honest  and  well- 
•*■  meaning  men  have  not  infrequently  in- 
curred the  odium  of  posterity,  not  so  much 
by  reason  of  any  enormities  of  which  they 
have  themselves  been  guilty,  as  because  it 
has  been  their  misfortune  to  be  set  to  impos- 
sible tasks  by  employers  or  comrades,  to 
whom  they  have  been  only  too  faithful. 
Few,  if  any,  of  such  men  have  less  deserved 
their  fate  than  Captain  Kidd,  one  of  the 
unluckiest  men  that  ever  Hved,  who  left  this 
world  on  Friday  the  23d  of  May,  1701, 
after  woeful  experiences  at  sea  of  the  doings 
of  an  unruly  crew,  and  on  shore  of  the 
schemings  of  unscrupulous  politicians  and 

3 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

lawyers  at  Boston,  Newgate,  the  Old  Bailey, 
and  the  Execution  Dock  at  Wapping. 

To  most  of  those  who  woo  her,  reputation 
is  a  coy  and  fickle  mistress.  But  she  occa- 
sionally evinces  a  very  embarrassing  attach- 
ment to  men  and  women,  whose  innate  mod- 
esty and  reticence  have  prompted  them 
throughout  their  careers  to  give  her  as  wide 
a  berth  as  possible.  She  has  clung  most 
unfairly  and  pertinaciously  for  more  than 
two  centuries  to  poor  Kidd,  who  in  common 
with  most  men  of  his  calling,  had  no  desire 
whatever  to  obtrude  himself  on  the  public 
notice.  This  worthy,  honest  hearted,  stead- 
fast, much  enduring  sailor,  a  typical  sea 
captain  of  his  day,  seems  really  to  have  done 
his  best  to  serve  his  country  and  his  employ- 
ers according  to  his  lights,  in  very  difficult 
circumstances.  His  fatal  mistake  which 
brought  all  his  sufferings  on  him  was  that  he 
yielded  to  the  solicitations,  if  not  to  the  in- 
timidations, of  personages  of  higher  rank 
than  his  own,  who  for  their  own  ends  in- 

4 


PRELIMINARY 

duced  him  against  his  better  judgment  to 
embark  on  an  impossible  enterprise,  which 
after  the  manner  of  his  kind  he  doggedly- 
tried  to  carry  through  to  the  utmost  of  his 
ability,  and  in  which  he  came  nearer  attain- 
ing success  than  could  reasonably  have  been 
anticipated.  For  his  pains,  after  giving 
himself  into  custody  in  reliance  on  the  word 
and  honour  of  his  chief  employer,  a  Whig 
nobleman,  he  was  ignominiously  executed 
and  hung  in  chains,  after  nearly  two  years' 
close  incarceration,  and  has  ever  since  been 
held  up  to  execration  as  the  arch  pirate,  who 
left  behind  him  untold  hoards  of  treasure 
taken  from  the  murdered  crews  of  peaceable 
merchantmen,  and  buried  God  knows  where, 
on  the  innumerable  coasts  and  keys  of  the 
West  Indies,  where  they  are  popularly  sup- 
posed to  await  discovery  to  this  day.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  conceive  any  wilder 
misrepresentation  of  the  poor  man's  doings. 
Kidd  seems  to  have  been  born  in  Scot- 
land and  to  have  spent  the  greater  part  of 

5 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDU 

his  life  in  the  American  Colonies,  neither  of 
which  circumstances  was  likely  to  stand  liim 
in  good  stead,  either  with  the  great  men  who 
employed  him  or  with  the  London  juries,  by 
whom  he  was  found  guilty  of  murder  and 
piracy.  It  is  not  alleged  by  his  detractors 
that  he  had  not  borne  an  excellent  character, 
until  he  was  sent  on  his  wild-goose  chase 
after  pirates,  nor  is  there  any  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  he  had  any  taste  himself  for 
piracy.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  his  exem- 
plary past  conduct  in  this  respect,  in  which 
he  was  certainly  in  advance  of  his  time, 
which  was  the  primary  cause  of  his  ruin,  in- 
asmuch as  it  induced  the  Earl  of  Bellamont, 
the  Governor  of  New  England,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  a  local  magnate,  Colonel  Liv- 
ingstone, to  select  him  as  the  most  fitting 
instrument  for  the  furtherance  of  the  King's 
alleged  designs  for  the  suppression  of 
piracy,  when  at  the  mature  age  of  fifty-two, 
he  was  living  a  reputable  sea-faring  life  in 
easy  circumstances,  possessed  of  a  ship  of 

6 


PRELIMINARY 

his  o\^ii,  and  married  to  a  wife  with  a  con- 
siderable fortune,  settled  in  New  York. 

BeUamont  was  appointed  Governor  of 
New  York  by  His  JNIajesty  King  William 
the  Third,  early  in  the  year  1695.  Two 
years  before  he  had  been  treasurer  and  re- 
ceiver  general  of  the  late  Queen  Mary;  but 
she  had  fomid  it  impossible  to  allow  him  to 
retain  that  post.  In  her  diary  of  1693  she 
.WTites :  "  Lord  BeUamont  behaved  himself 
impertinently.  I  turned  him  out  and 
was  censured  for  it  by  all,  which  was  no 
small  vexation  to  me.  But  I  could  not  be 
convinced  that  I  was  in  the  wrong,  yet  was 
sorrj^  it  was  so  mider stood."  That  he  was 
given  to  taking  mi  justifiable  action  on  ill- 
gromided  suspicions  would  appear  from  the 
fact  that  in  the  same  year  (1693)  he  had 
made  himself  ridiculous  by  a  vexatious  and 
abortive  impeacliment  of  the  Lord  Chancel- 
lor of  Ireland,  Lord  Coningsby,  and  one  of 
the  Irish  Lord  Justices,  Sir  Charles  Porter, 
both  of  whom  he  had  arraigned  for  high 

7 


'/ 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

treason   and   other   imaginarj^   crimes   and 
misdemeanors.    The  House  of  Commons,  to 
whom  he  had  presented  his  articles  of  im- 
peachment, could  not  stomach  proceedings 
so  obviously  calculated  to  bring  it  into  con- 
tempt;   and  unanimously  decided  that  the 
great  majority  of  his  accusations  were  ab- 
solutely groundless,  wliile  they  dechned  to 
take  any  action  on  the  remainder,  consider- 
ing the  state  of  Ireland  at  the  time  when  the 
alleged  breaches  of  the  law  had  taken  place. 
It  is  of  course  impossible  to  say  with  cer- 
tainty how  far  his  ineptitude  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  the  remembrance  of  the  Queen's 
dislike  to  the  man,  induced  the  King  to  offer 
him  a  colonial  governorship.    But  he  would 
be  a  bold  man  who  would  venture  to  deny 
that   even    in   more   modern   times   similar 
appointments    have    been    offered    to    and 
accepted  by  men,  whom  their  own   party 
have  found  it  convenient  to  rid  Parliament 
of  at  any  cost,  without  regard  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Colonies  to  which  they  have  been 

8 


PRELIMINARY 

relegated.  In  those  days  colonial  governor- 
ships were  less  sought  after  than  they  are 
now ;  and  it  was  hopeless  to  expect  any  man 
of  mark  at  home  to  accept  one. 

From  an  "  Account  of  the  proceedings  in 
relation  to  Captain  Kidd  in  two  letters  from 
a  Person  of  Quality  to  a  kinsman  of  the 
Earl  of  Bellamont,"  published  in  1701,  the 
year  of  Kidd's  death,  with  the  avowed  ob- 
ject of  vindicating  the  memory  of  Bella- 
mont, who  was  then  dead,  it  appears  that 
New  York  had  at  that  time,  rightly  or 
wrongly,  earned  a  bad  name  in  England. 
These  letters,  wliich  so  far  as  they  appeared 
to  wliitewash  Bellamont  and  Kidd's  other 
employers,  were  eagerly  accepted  and  em- 
belhshed  by  Macaulay,  are  historically  in- 
teresting from  the  side  lights  which  they 
throw  on  certain  differences  which  had  then 
arisen  between  England  and  her  American 
Colonies,  and  were  already  paving  the  way 
for  the  separation  of  the  Mother  Country 
and  her  strongest  child.    Their  writer  begins 


THE   REAL    CAPTAIX    KIDD 

by  informing  his  readers  that  "  it  was  then 
well  known  that  for  several  years  two  very 
pernicious  things  had  been  growing  up  in 
our  American  Colonies,  —  an  unlawful 
trade  in  fraud  of  the  Acts  of  Navigation 
and  the  Plantations,  infinitely  prejudicial  to 
England,  and  the  cursed  practice  of  pi- 
racy, utterly  destructive  of  all  commerce." 
"  Many,"  he  tells  us,  "  were  insensibly 
drawn  into  these  ill  courses  by  observing 
what  excessive  wealth  the  offenders  gained 
in  a  short  time,  and  with  what  impunity 
they  offended.  For  some  Governors,  hav- 
ing found  a  way  to  share  in  the  profit,  were 
obliged  not  only  to  connive  at,  but  protect, 
the  offenders."  This  anonymous  gentleman 
had  often,  he  says,  been  told  by  Bellamont 
that  His  Majesty  had  done  him  the  honour 
to  say  "  that  he  thought  him  a  man  of  reso- 
lution and  integrity,  and  with  these  qualifi- 
cations, more  likely  than  any  other  he  could 
then  think  of"  (apparently  from  Bella- 
mont's  own  account  of  the  interview  the 

10 


PRELIMINARY 

King  had  not  much  time  to  waste  in  troub- 
ling himself  about  so  unimportant  a  mat- 
ter), "  to  put  a  stop  to  that  illegal  trade  and 
to  the  growth  of  piracy,  for  which  reason  he 
had  made  choice  of  him  as  Governor  of  New 
York,  and  for  the  same  reason  intended  to 
put  the  government  of  New  England  into 
his  hands." 

It  would  therefore  appear  to  be  admitted 
by  this  gentleman  that  the  primary  object 
of  the  King  in  the  selection  of  Bellamont 
was  to  secure  the  more  rigorous  enforce- 
ment of  the  Navigation  and  Plantation 
Acts.  These  Acts  had  been  passed  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  the  Second,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  for  England  the  monopoly 
of  American  trade,  by  preventing  under 
heavy  penalties  any  direct  trade  between  the 
Colonists  and  their  neighbors,  French, 
Spanish,  or  Dutch,  in  the  West  Indies. 
They  prohibited  the  import  and  export  of 
goods  into  or  from  the  plantations  except 
in  ships  built  in  England ;  and  provided  for 

11 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

the  seizure  and  forfeiture  of  any  other  ves- 
sels employed  in  that  trade  and  all  goods 
found  on  board.  It  will  readily  be  under- 
stood that,  although  this  monopoly  was  re- 
garded with  great  favour  in  England,  it  had 
been  growing  more  and  more  unpopular 
with  the  Colonists,  as  their  commerce  and 
population  increased,  because  their  traffic 
-with  their  neighbors  was  incommoded  and 
hampered  by  it;  the  inevitable  result  being 
that  the  smuggling  of  goods  into  and  out  of 
the  plantations  had  become  a  popular  and 
lucrative  and  not  very  difficult  business. 
Our  Dutch  King's  desire  to  check  this 
smuggling  was  not  unnatural,  money  being 
at  that  time  urgently  required  by  him  for 
the  prosecution  of  his  French  War. 

Bellamont,  appointed  Governor  of  New 
England  in  July,  1695,  seems  to  have  been 
in  no  hurry  to  go  out  to  America.  The  pri- 
mary object  of  his  appointment  being  the 
more  rigid  enforcement  of  the  Navigation 
Acts,  it  may  be  that  it  was  thought  desira- 

12 


PRELIMINARY 

ble  that  he  should  be  at  hand  during  the  pas- 
sage through  ParHament  in  the  following 
year  of  the  English  Statute  entitled  "  An 
Act  for  preventing  frauds  and  regulating 
abuses  in  the  Plantation  Trade."  The  Par- 
liamentary draftsmen  of  those  days  had  a 
pretty  talent  for  invective  exercisable  on 
the  instructions  of  those  in  power.  In  this 
case  it  was  displayed  not  only  in  the  pream- 
ble of  the  Act,  but  also  in  the  recitals  to  sev- 
eral of  the  clauses.  From  these  we  learn 
that  notwithstanding  the  Acts  of  King 
Charles  the  Second  "  made  for  the  encour- 
agement of  the  navigation  of  the  kingdom 
and  for  the  better  securing  and  regulating 
the  plantation  trade,  great  abuses  were 
daily  committed  to  the  detriment  of  the 
English  navigation  and  the  loss  of  a  great 
part  of  the  plantation  trade,  through  the 
artifice  and  cunning  of  ill-disposed  per- 
sons." Amongst  these  artful,  cunning,  and 
ill-disposed  persons,  the  pre-eminence  is  as- 
signed to  Scotchmen,  who  in  that  year  were 

13 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

in  bad  odour  with  the  King,  and  projecting 
their  unfortunate  Darien  expedition  which, 
had  it  succeeded,  might  have  hit  the  EngHsh 
trade  far  harder  than  any  amount  of  smug- 
ghng  could  have  done.  "  Great  frauds  and 
abuses,"  we  are  told  by  the  draftsman, 
"  have  been  committed  by  Scotchmen  and 
others  in  the  plantation  trade,  by  obtruding 
false  and  counterfeit  certificates  upon  the 
government  officers  of  having  given  security 
in  this  kingdom  to  bring  the  ladings  of  plan- 
tation goods  to  England,  Wales,  or  the  town 
of  Berwick-upon-Tweed;  as  also  certifi- 
cates of  havmg  discharged  their  ladings  of 
plantation  goods  in  this  kingdom  pursuant 
to  securities  taken  in  the  plantations,  and 
also  cocquets  or  certificates  of  having  taken 
in  their  ladings  of  European  goods  in  Eng- 
land, Wales,  or  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  by 
means  whereof  they  may  carry  the  goods  of 
Scotland  and  other  places  of  Europe,  with- 
out shipping  the  same  in  England,  Wales, 
or  Berwick-upon-Tweed  to  His  Majesty's 

14 


PRELIMINARY 

plantations,  and  also  carry  the  goods  of  the 
plantations  directly  to  Scotland  or  any  other 
market  in  Europe  without  bringing  the 
same  to  England,  Wales,  or  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed."  To  remedy  these  malpractices,  a 
penalty  of  five  hundred  pounds  was  imposed 
by  the  Act  on  any  person  making  use  of 
such  false  cocquets  and  certificates.  Every 
Colonial  Governor  was  required  to  take  a 
solemn  oath  to  do  his  utmost,  that  all  the 
clauses,  matters,  and  things  contained  in  the 
Navigation  Acts  should  be  punctually  and 
bond  fide  observed;  and  on  proof  that  any 
Governor  had  neglected  to  take  this  oath,  or 
been  wittingly  or  willingly  negligent  in  do- 
ing his  duty,  he  was  to  be  removed  from  his 
government  and  fined  one  thousand  pounds 
isterling.  All  naval  officers  in  the  planta- 
tions were  required  to  give  security  to  the 
Commissioners  of  Customs  for  the  faithful 
performance  of  their  duties,  and  until  such 
securities  had  been  given  and  approved  by 
the  Commissioners,  the  Governor  was  mad§ 

15 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

answerable  for  their  defaults.  The  Act  is 
very  lengthy  and  verbose.  But  the  above 
are  its  most  imj)ortant  provisions. 

Legislation  of  this  sort  was  thoroughly 
in  harmony  with  the  policy  pursued  at  that 
time  by  the  Home  Government  in  its  deal- 
ings with  the  Colonies.  Generations  had 
yet  to  pass  before  any  doubt  as  to  its  wis- 
dom began  to  dawn  in  the  minds  of  English- 
men. Had  Bellamont's  instructions  from 
his  royal  patron  been  confined  to  its  fur- 
therance, it  would  have  been  well  for  poor 
Kidd,  and  the  reputations  of  Bellamont  and 
sundry  great  personages  in  England.  But 
they  had,  as  has  been  seen,  extended  to  the 
suppression  of  the  alleged  gro^vth  of  piracy 
in  New  England.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
may  well  be  doubted  whether  piracy  had, 
as  alleged,  been  for  several  years  on  the  in- 
crease in  that  part  of  the  world.  In  the 
West  Indies  it  had  greatly  diminished. 
Less  than  thirt}'^  years  before,  the  buccaneers 
had  been  so  numerous  that,  on  receiving  the 

16 


PRELIMINARY 

directions  of  King  Charles  the  Second  to 
stop  their  depredations  on  the  Spaniards, 
they  had  in  defiance  of  his  orders  stormed 
the  Castle  of  Chagres ;  and  marching  thence 
across  the  Isthmus,  more  than  a  thousand 
strong,  sacked  and  burnt  Panama  itself  in 
the  face  of  the  organized  forces  of  the  Span- 
iards. Now  the  great  Brotherhood  of  the 
Coast  had  practically  ceased  to  exist.  Such 
piracy  as  still  lingered  on  amongst  the  Eng- 
lish speaking  race  was  for  the  most  part 
limited  to  the  eastern  seas  and  consisted 
mainly  in  depredations  on  the  shipping  of 
Mussulmans,  Armenians,  and  the  natives  of 
India,  collectively  termed  by  seamen  Moors. 
Without  in  any  way  extenuating  the  prac- 
tice of  plundering  these  people,  it  is  only 
right  that  we  should  bear  in  mind,  in  consid- 
ering the  case  of  Kidd  and  his  crew,  the 
belief  then  widely  prevalent  amongst  Euro- 
peans that  there  was  little  if  any  impropriety 
or  disgrace  attaching  to  the  iU-treatment  and 
robbery  of  black  men  by  white.     Witness, 

17 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

for  example,  the  slave  trade,  and  the  condi- 
tions under  which  negroes  were  worked  in 
the  plantations.  Moorish  piracy  still  pre- 
vailed in  the  Mediterranean,  attended  by- 
great  cruelty  to  Europeans;  and  retaliation 
on  the  so-called  Moors  in  the  eastern  seas 
must  have  seemed  to  the  man  in  the  street 
the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world.  Darby 
Mullins,  who  was  hung  with  Kidd,  was  no 
doubt  voicing  the  opinion  commonly  held 
by  seamen  and  others,  not  only  in  the  plan- 
tations but  in  London  and  Bristol,  when 
whilst  expressing  in  his  last  moments  to  the 
Ordinarj''  of  Newgate  his  sincere  contrition 
for  his  habits  of  swearing  and  cursing  and 
profaning  the  Sabbath  day,  and  his  neglect 
to  return  thanks  to  his  Creator  for  his  pres- 
ervation in  an  earthquake  at  Jamaica  (sins 
of  commission  and  omission  which  he  re- 
garded as  really  serious  offences  and  for 
which  he  asked  pardon),  nevertheless  pro- 
tested in  defence  of  his  piracy  under  Culli- 
ford  that  "  he  had  not  known  but  that  it 

18 


PRELIMINARY 

was  very  lawful "  (as  he  said  he  had  been 
told)  "  to  plunder  ships  and  goods  belong- 
ing to  the  enemies  of  Christianity."  We 
may  indeed  be  permitted  to  doubt,  whether 
King  Wilham  himself  would  have  pressed 
Bellamont  to  check  this  piracy  in  the  eastern 
seas,  had  it  not  been  for  two  considerations; 
the  one  a  possible  apprehension  that  it 
might  extend  to  the  plundering  of  Dutch 
merchantmen  sailing  to  and  from  his  Dutch 
Colonies  in  the  East,  and  the  other  the  in- 
creasing complaints  on  the  part  of  the 
wealthy  East  India  Com]3any  who  exer- 
cised great  influence  in  Parliament,  that  it 
injured  their  trade  and  led  to  complications 
in  their  dealings  with  the  Great  Mogul. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  suppression  of 
piracy  in  the  East  was  not  only  a  desirable 
object,  but  one  that  was  likely  to  commend 
itself  to  the  mercantile  community ;  and  any 
plausible  project  for  its  furtherance  that 
would  not  necessitate  his  immediate  depar- 
ture from  England  would  naturally  be  wel- 

19 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

corned  by  Bellamont.     Such  a  project  was 
not  long  in  presenting  itself. 

To  return  to  his  defence  written  by  the 
anonymous  Person  of  Quality:  "  As  soon," 
he  says,  "as  it  was  known  that  the  Earl  of 
Bellamont  was  designed  for  Governor,  all 
persons  who  had  concerns  in  New  York 
made  their  applications  to  him.  Amongst 
others.  Colonel  Robert  Livingstone,  who 
had  several  employments  in  that  province, 
had  frequent  access  to  him,  as  well  upon  the 
account  of  the  pubHc  affairs  there,  as  of  sev- 
eral matters  which  he  had  depending  before 
the  council  and  the  treasury.  The  Earl, 
taking  occasion  to  mention  to  this  gentle- 
man the  scandal  which  lay  upon  New  York 
in  respect  of  the  encouragement  and  retreat, 
which  the  pirates  found  there,  Colonel  Liv- 
ingstone confessed  "  (as  might  be  expected 
of  a  canny  Scot,  who  wished  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  the  great  man)  "that  there 
was  too  much  ground  for  the  complaint, 
and  that  if  some  speedj'^  and  effectual  course 

20 


PRELIMINARY 

were  not  taken  to  suppress  those  enormities, 
so  many  persons  would  be  drawn  into  the 
guilt  that  it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult 
to  master  them." 

After  thinking  the  matter  over,  he  saw 
his  way  to  make  himself  serviceable. 
*'  When  he  came  again  to  wait  on  the  Earl, 
he  took  notice  of  the  zeal  the  Earl  had  ex- 
pressed at  their  last  conversation  for  put- 
ting a  stop  to  that  piratical  trade,  since 
which  time,  he  said,  he  had  spoke  with  one 
Captain  William  Kidd,  lately  come "  to 
London  "  from  New  York  in  a  sloop  of  his 
own,  who  told  him  that  he  knew  most  of  the 
principal  men  who  had  been  abroad  roving 
and  others  who  had  lately  gone  out,  and 
likewise  had  some  knowledge  of  the  places 
where  they  usually  made  their  rendezvous, 
and  that  he  would  undertake  to  seize  most 
of  them  in  case  he  might  be  employed  in  one 
of  the  King's  ships,  a  good  sailer  of  about 
thirty  guns,  and  might  have  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men.     He  said  that  though  the 

21 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

pirates  were  many  in  number  yet  they 
had  at  that  time  no  ship  of  considerable 
size.  Livingstone  affirmed  that  Kidd  was 
a  bold  and  honest  man  and  he  believed  bet- 
ter than  any  other  to  be  employed  on  that 
occasion." 

In  the  hght  of  subsequent  events  it  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  poor  Kidd  hap- 
pened at  that  jimcture  to  have  come  to  Lon- 
don from  New  York  and,  whether  in  his 
cups  or  otherwise,  made  these  disclosures 
to  Livingstone.  But  that  Livingstone  was 
fully  justified  in  his  estimate  of  Kidd's  char- 
acter is  clear  from  the  evidence  of  the  four 
most  reputable  witnesses  (it  may  almost  be 
said  the  only  reputable  witnesses)  at  Kidd's 
subsequent  trials,  —  Colonel  Hewson,  Cap- 
tain Bond,  Captain  Humphreys,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Cooper,  —  who  happened  to  be  in 
London,  when  the  trial  came  on.  Colonel 
Hewson  then  testified  that  Kidd  was  a 
mighty  man  in  the  French  war  in  the  West 
Indies;    and  had  served  under  his   (Hew- 

22 


PRELIMINARY 

son's)  command,  being  sent  to  him  by  the 
order  of  Colonel  Codrington.  "  He  was 
with  me,"  he  swore,  "  in  two  engagements 
against  the  French,  and  fought  as  well  as 
any  man  I  ever  saw,  according  to  the 
proportion  of  his  men.  We  had  six 
Frenchmen  to  deal  with,  and  only  mine  and 
his  ship." 

KiDD.  "  Do  you  think  I  was  a  pirate?  " 
Hewson.  "  I  know  his  men  would  have 
gone  a-pirateering  and  he  refused  it;  and 
his  men  seized  upon  his  ship.  When  he 
went  this  voyage,  he  consulted  me  and  told 
me  they  had  engaged  him  on  such  an  expe- 
dition. And  I  told  him  he  had  enough  al- 
ready, and  might  be  contented  with  what 
he  had.  And  he  said  that  was  his  own  in- 
clination; but  my  Lord  Bellamont  had  told 
him,  if  he  did  not  go  this  voyage,  that  there 
were  great  men  and  they  would  stop  his 
brigantine  in  the  river,  if  he  did  not  go." 

Mr.  Justice  Tueton.     "  Who  told  you 
so?    Did  he?" 

23 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Hewson.    "  Yes,  my  lord." 

Mr.  Justice  Turton.  "  Did  you  appre- 
hend that  his  intention  in  that  undertaking 
was  to  be  a  pirate?  '* 

Hewson.  "  No,  my  lord.  He  told  me 
liis  business  was  to  go  cruising  and  surprise 
pirates." 

The  Solicitor  General.  "  Did  he  tell 
you  he  had  no  such  design? " 

Hewson.  "Yes;  he  said  he  would  be 
shot  to  death  before  he  would  do  any  such 
thing.  He  was  very  serviceable  in  the  West 
Indies." 

On  the  same  occasion  Captain  Bond 
swore  that  he  knew  that  Kidd  was  very  use- 
ful at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  Cap- 
tain Humphreys  that  he  had  known  Kidd  at 
the  beginning  of  the  late  war,  and  that  he 
had  the  applause  of  the  General,  as  he  could 
show  by  the  General's  letter,  a  general  ap- 
plause of  what  he  had  done  from  time  to 
time. 

Mr.  Thomas  Cooper  gave  evidence  to  the 


PRELIMINARY 

like  effect.  Being  asked  by  Kidd  to  tell  the 
Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward,  what  he  knew  of 
him  in  the  West  Indies,  he  replied:  "I 
was  on  board  the  Lyon;  and  this  Captain 
Kidd  brought  his  ship  from  a  place  that  be- 
longed to  the  Dutch  and  brought  her  into 
the  King's  service  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  about  ten  years  ago;  and  we  fought 
Monsieur  Du  Cass  a  whole  day,  and  I  thank 
God  we  got  the  better  of  it.  And  Captain 
Kidd  behaved  himself  very  well  in  the  face 
of  his  enemies." 

Two  points  should  be  noted  in  Colonel 
Hewson's  evidence.  First,  that  he  knew 
that  Kidd,  years  before  there  was  any 
thought  of  sending  him  out  to  suppress 
piracy  in  the  eastern  seas,  had  not  only  done 
good  service  for  England  in  the  war  against 
France,  but  had  also  refused  to  join  his  crew 
in  "  pirateering,"  with  the  result  that  they 
had  seized  his  ship.  Secondly,  that  Kidd 
had  told  him  before  he  started  on  his  last  un- 
lucky expedition,  that  he  was  drawn  into 

25 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN   KIDD 

the  business  by  an  intimation  on  the  part  of 
Bellamont,  that  there  were  great  men  in  it, 
and  by  the  threat  that  if  he  did  not  go,  his 
brigantine  would  be  stopjjed  in  the  river. 
That  there  were  great  men  in  the  business, 
far  greater  men  than  Bellamont,  is  indis- 
putable. That  great  men  in  those  days 
were  wont  to  use  their  great  power  more 
arbitrarily  than  they  dare  to  do  now-a-days 
is  also  indisputable.  That  Kidd  was  more 
or  less  coerced  into  embarking  in  their  busi- 
ness by  the  fear  that  they  might  stop  his 
brigantine  in  the  river  if  he  refused  to  go, 
cannot,  in  view  of  the  statement  which  he 
made  to  Colonel  Hewson  before  starting,  be 
reasonably  regarded  as  improbable. 

To  return  to  the  narrative  of  the  Person 
of  Quality,  who  was  not  likely  to  lay  stress 
on  these  points.  "  His  Majesty,"  he  says, 
"  was  made  acquainted  with  the  proposal  by 
the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  and  was  pleased  to 
consult  the  Admiralty.  But  the  war  em- 
ploying all  the  King's  ships  which  were  in 

S6 


PRELIMINARY 

a  condition  of  service,  and  the  great  want  of 
seamen  (notwithstanding  the  press  and  all 
other  means  used),  together  with  the  re- 
moteness of  the  voyage,  and  the  uncertainty 
of  meeting  the  pirates  or  taking  them  if 
they  were  found,  occasioned  after  some  de- 
liberation the  laying  aside  of  the  project  as 
impracticable  at  that  time."  In  other 
words,  the  Admiralty  officials,  realizing  the  j 
difficulty  of  the  task,  declined  to  take  any 
part  in  it,  and  pleaded  inability. 

The  pertinacious  Livingstone,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  was  not  to  be  staved 
off  in  this  fashion;  and  before  long  he  hit 
upon  a  new  project.  "  He  did  propose  to 
the  Earl,  that  if  persons  of  consideration 
might  be  induced  to  join  in  the  expense  of 
buying  and  fitting  out  a  proper  ship,  he  had 
such  an  opinion  of  Kidd's  capacity  and  good 
meaning,  and  so  great  a  desire  that  some 
stop  might  be  put  to  these  practices  that 
he  would  be  one  of  the  undertakers  "  (in- 
cm-ring  little  risk  so  long  as  he  stood  in  with 

27 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

persons  of  sufficient  consideration) ;  "  and 
that  he  and  Kidd  would  be  at  one-fifth  part 
of  the  charge.  The  Earl  thought  himself 
obliged  in  duty  to  make  this  second  over- 
ture known  to  His  Majesty,  who  was 
pleased  to  approve  highly  of  the  design,  be- 
cause "  (note  the  reason)  "nothing  of  that 
nature  was  to  be  effected  in  any  other  way. 
He  did  also  declare,  as  an  encouragement 
to  such  an  undertaking,  that  the  persons 
with  whom  the  Earl  should  engage  to  be  at 
the  expense  of  the  voyage  should  have  a 
grant  of  what  Kidd  should  take  from  the 
pirates,  so  far  as  it  might  belong  to  him, 
except  some  part,  which  he  would  reserve 
for  himself  chiefly  to  show  that  he  was  a 
partner  in  the  undertaking." 

So  far,  therefore,  as  appears  from  the 
narrative  of  this  Person  of  Quality,  who  is 
the  only  witness  of  these  confidential  com- 
munications, whose  evidence  is  now  avail- 
able. The  original  suggestion  of  Kidd,  who 
unlike  the  majority  of  his  fellow  Colonists 

28 


PRELIMINARY  ^ 

was  opposed  to  piracy  in  the  East  or  else- 
where, was  that  if  he  was  sent  out  on  board 
of  a  King's  ship,  with  officers  and  men  of 
the  King's  navj^,  he  would  indicate  to  them 
the  places  to  which  the  pirates  were  wont  to 
resort,  and  thus  enable  the  King's  sailors  to 
seize  them.  The  Admiralty  doubted  the 
feasibility  of  this  plan,  even  if  they  had  had 
the  necessary  means  at  the  moment  to  carry 
it  out.  The  disastrous  suggestion  that 
Kidd  should  be  sent  out  in  command  of  a 
ship,  provided  at  the  expense  of  persons  of 
consideration,  and  manned  by  a  scratch 
crew  of  undisciplined  men,  emanated  from 
Livingstone,  and  was  assented  to  by  the 
King  as  a  pis-aller.  At  the  worst  the  King 
could  not  lose  a  farthing  by  it.  If  it  suc- 
ceeded, he  would  not  only  gain  his  object, 
but  pocket  a  substantial  share  of  the  plun- 
der. The  adventurers  might  pocket  more, 
but  they  would  run  some  risk  of  parting 
with  their  money  and  getting  no  return  for 
it.     What  would  happen  to  Kidd,  if  he 

29 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

failed,  appears  to  have  been  no  concern  to 
any  of  them. 

The  King's  approval  of  the  adventure 
having  been  obtained,  the  next  thing  to  be 
done  was  to  find  the  necessary  persons  of 
consideration,  willing  to  put  their  money  in 
it.  Six  thousand  pounds  only  were  re- 
quired, of  which  Livingstone  and  Kidd  each 
contributed  six  hundred.  The  remainder 
was  at  once  advanced  by  four  of  the  most 
powerful  men  in  England  at  that  time, 
leading  men  in  the  King's  Whig  JMinistry, 
Somers  the  Lord  Chancellor;  the  Earl  of 
Orford,  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty; 
and  the  two  Secretaries  of  State,  the  Earl 
of  Romney  and  the  Duke  of  Shrewsbury. 
Great  men  indeed  were  now  in  the  business, 
and  it  was  too  late  for  Kidd  to  back  out  of 
it.  So  far  Livingstone  had  succeeded,  prob- 
ably beyond  his  wildest  hopes. 

But  although  these  great  men  were  quite 
willing  to  risk  their  moneys  in  this  adven- 
ture, they  were  by  no  means  keen  that  their 

30 


PRELIMINARY 

names  should  appear  in  connection  with  it. 
In  the  grant  ^  made  to  the  adventurers  by 
the  King  of  the  pirates'  goods  and  wares 
to  be  taken  by  Kidd,  it  was  expressly  stated 
that  his  ship,  the  Adventure  Galley,  had 
been,  with  the  King's  knowledge  and  royal 
encouragement,  fitted  out  to  sea  at  the  great 
and  sole  charge  of  the  Earl  of  Bellamont 
and  Sir  Edmimd  Harrison,  and  four  ob- 
scure personages,  Samuel  Newton,  John 
Rowley,  George  Watson,  and  Thomas  Rey- 
nolds, not  one  of  whom  had  advanced  a 
penny  of  their  own  upon  it;  and  it  was  to 
these  persons,  and  not  to  Livingstone,  Kidd, 
or  the  four  King's  ministers  that  the  grant 
purported  to  be  made  on  the  ground  that 
the  King  was  "  graciously  inclined  that  so 
chargeable  an  undertaking  tending  to  such 
good  and  laudable  ends  should  have  meet 
and  proper  encouragement."  As  a  quid 
pro  quo  for  this  highly  improper  grant,  the 
legality  of  which  was  afterwards  very  seri- 

*  A  copy  of  this  grant  will  be  found  in  Appendix  A. 

31 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ously  called  in  question  in  Parliament,  the 
grantees  by  an  indenture  of  even  date 
therewith  agreed  to  well  and  truly  account 
for  and  deliver  to  the  use  of  His  Majesty 
one  full  clear  tenth  part  of  any  vessels, 
merchandise,  moneys,  goods,  and  wares  that 
might  be  captured  by  Kidd. 

Two  Commissions  were  granted  to  Kidd 
himself,  the  one,  letters  of  marque  in  ordi- 
nary form,  empowering  him  to  capture 
French  ships,  and  the  other,  a  special  Com- 
mission authorizing  him  to  apprehend,  seize, 
and  take  four  persons  designated  by  name 
as  pirates,  Thomas  Too,  John  Ireland, 
Thomas  Wake,  and  William  Maze  alias 
Mace  (none  of  whom  were  found  by  him  in 
the  course  of  his  wanderings ) ,  and  also  any 
other  pirates,  freebooters,  and  sea  rovers, 
whom  he  might  be  fortunate  enough  to 
catch,  together  with  their  ships,  merchan- 
dise, goods,  and  wares.  How  he  was  to  sat- 
isfy himself  that  any  persons  whom  he 
might  come  across  were  pirates,  unless  he 

32 


PRELIMINARY 

caught  them  in  the  act  of  piracy,  and  what 
the  consequences  to  himself  would  be,  if  he 
had  the  misfortune  by  mistake  to  kill  per- 
sons whom  he  suspected  to  be  pirates,  but 
of  whose  piracy  he  had  no  legal  proof,  or 
if  by  any  equally  likely  mischance  he  neg- 
lected to  seize  persons  who  were  pirates, 
but  whom  he  could  not  prove  to  be  such, 
does  not  appear  from  any  of  the  verbose 
legal  documents  drawn  up  on  this  occasion. 
What  is  clear  from  them  ^  amongst  other 
things  is  this,  that  they  imposed  on  his  men 
conditions  which  were  likely  to  be  and 
in  the  event  proved  to  be  very  unpalatable 
to  them.  The  most  important  of  these  was 
that  if  they  took  no  prizes,  the  crew  were  to 
have  no  pay.  Another  condition  was  that 
if  the  prize  moneys  were  insufficient  to  meet 
the  full  amount  advanced  by  the  four  great 
men,  the  deficiency  was  to  be  made  good  by 
Kidd  and  Livingstone,  both  of  whom  were 
substantial  men.    In  the  event  of  the  prize 

*  See  Appendix  A. 
3S 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

moneys  amounting  to  one  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds,  the  Adventure  Galley,  which 
turned  out  to  be  a  leaky  old  vessel,  was  to 
become  the  property  of  Kidd.  The  great 
men  therefore  ran  very  little  pecuniary  risk, 
and  obviously  hoped  to  make  enormous 
gains  from  the  enterprise.  But  for  this  ex- 
pectation it  is  highly  improbable  that  any 
of  them  would  have  embarked  in  the  ad- 
venture. 

It  is,  of  course,  very  difficult  at  this  dis- 
tance of  time  to  determine  with  any  cer- 
tainty what  amount  of  blame  attaches  to 
the  several  personages  concerned  in  this 
unfortunate  business.  Very  grave  suspi- 
cion attaches  to  some  of  them.  One  thing, 
however,  is  reasonably  certain,  that  no  can- 
did person  who  will  now  take  the  trouble  to 
look  into  the  case  carefully,  can  come  to  any 
other  conclusion  than  that  the  balance  of  evi- 
dence is  distinctly  in  favour  of  poor  Kidd; 
and  that  he  was  fully  justified  in  the  reply 
which  he  made  to  Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward, 

34 


PRELIMINARY 

when  called  upon  to  say  why  sentence  of 
death  should  not  be  pronounced  upon  him. 
"  My  lord,  it  is  a  very  hard  sentence.  For 
my  part,  I  am  the  innocentest  person  of 
them  all." 


35 


CHAPTER    TWO 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  "  ADVENTURE  GALLEY  "^ 

LEGAL  preliminaries  completed,  Kidd's 
ship,  the  Adventure  Galley,  was 
launched  in  Castle's  Yard  at  Deptford,  on 
the  fourth  of  December,  1695,  and  set  sail 
between  two  and  three  months  afterwards. 
Sir  Edmund  Harrison,  described  by  Bella- 
mont's  apologist  as  "  a  reputable  city  mer- 
chant," had  been  at  the  pains  to  select  the 
crew  with  great  care  so  as  to  exclude  all 
Scotch  and  Colonials,  who  were  regarded  as 
ineligible  bj^  reason  of  their  supposed  pro- 
clivities to  smuggling  and  piracy.  "  That 
nothing  might  be  wanting,"  we  are  told  by 

^  The  narrative  of  this  voyage  written  by  Kidd  and 
the  depositions  of  such  of  his  crew  as  remained  faithful 
to  him,  will  be  found  in  Appendix  B.  Other  details  are 
to  be  found  in  the  verbatim  reports  of  his  trials. 

39 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN   KIDD 

the  same  writer,  "  which  the  nature  of  the 
thing  would  admit  notwithstanding  the 
great  difficulty  of  finding  men  at  that  time, 
Sir  Edmund  Harrison  took  such  care  of  the 
crew  that  every  officer  in  the  ship  and  al- 
most all  the  seamen  had  settled  families  in 
England."  "True  it  is,"  he  adds  in  the 
next  paragraph,  "  that  this  care  was  in  a 
great  degree  rendered  ineff'ectual:  for  most 
of  the  crew  were  pressed  before  Kidd  got 
out  of  the  river."  Kidd  himself  in  his  art- 
less narrative  tells  the  tale  more  tersely, 
merely  recording  the  fact  that  "  on  the  first 
of  March,  when  he  came  to  the  Buoy  at  the 
Nore,  his  men  were  pressed  for  the  fleet." 
Seeing  that  the  First  Lord  of  the  Adiniralty 
was  one  of  the  principal  partners  in  the  ad- 
venture, it  may  seem  strange  to  those  who 
have  had  no  personal  experience  of  official 
blunderings,  that  precautions  had  not  been 
taken  to  prevent  this  untoward  mishap, 
which  made  a  hopeless  enterprise  more 
hopeless  than  ever.     For  it  left  Kidd  no 

40 


r  »> 


"  ADVENTURE    GALLEY 

alternative  but  to  get  the  bulk  of  his  crew 
from  America.  With  such  of  liis  men  as 
had  not  been  deemed  worth  taking  by  the 
press  gang,  he  managed  to  get  away  from 
Plymouth  about  the  end  of  April.  On  his 
way  to  America,  he  captured  a  small  French 
vessel  with  salt  and  fishing  tackle  bound  for 
Newfoundland,  and  brought  her  into  port 
at  New  York.  There  in  the  head  centre 
and  hotbed  of  the  smuggling  and  piracy, 
which  the  King  desired  to  repress,  he  set  to 
work  to  pick  up  the  best  substitutes  he  could 
find  for  the  men  who  had  been  so  carefully 
selected  for  him  and  so  unceremoniously 
taken  from  him  at  the  Nore. 

He  reached  New  York  in  July  and  did 
not  leave  it  till  September.  In  the  interval 
the  French  ship  which  he  had  captured  was 
condemned  by  the  authorities  as  a  lawful 
prize;  and  according  to  Kidd's  narrative  of 
these  events,  "  the  produce  thereof  pur- 
chased provisions  for  the  Adventure  Gal- 
ley for  her  further  intended  voyage."     It 

41 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

must  have  been  anything  but  an  easy  job  to 
get  the  requisite  number  of  men  to  fill  up 
the  vacancies  in  his  ship's  company.  The 
Colony  was  not  over  populated,  nor  was 
there  anv  lack  of  work  for  those  who  cared 
to  take  it.  The  only  terms  he  was  author- 
ized to  offer,  "  No  purchase,  no  pay,"  were 
not  likely  to  be  accepted  by  skilled  and  ex- 
perienced seamen,  who  had  the  chance  of 
earning  a  good  living  at  home  by  smug- 
gling, or  of  going  out  and  making  their  for- 
tunes, as  some  had  lately  done  in  the  East 
under  such  captains  as  those  whom  it  was 
now  Kidd's  business  to  catch.  Nor  was  the 
catching  of  their  old  friends  for  hanging  pur- 
poses likely  to  be  a  popular  employment  in 
that  part  of  the  world.  He  probably  picked 
up  some  adventurous  boys,  eager  to  go  to 
sea  at  anj^  cost,  in  ignorance  of  the  fate  to 
which  they  were  consigning  themselves.  Of 
the  older  men  who  joined.  Darby  Mullins, 
a  rolling  stone  who  had  gathered  no  moss, 
may  perhaps  be  taken  as  a  fair  sample. 

42 


"ADVENTURE    GALLEY 


J) 


From  so  much  of  his  previous  history  as 
this  poor  man  told  to  the  chaplain  at  New- 
gate, it  appears  that  he  was  an  Irishman, 
born  near  Londonderry,  kidnapped  when 
young  and  shipped  for  the  plantations, 
where  he  had  followed  various  honest  avo- 
cations without  any  conspicuous  success. 
Most  of  Kidd's  grown-up  recruits,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  were  men  of  this  kind,  who  for 
one  reason  or  another  were  indisposed  to 
remain  long  in  any  one  employment,  and 
likely  to  abandon  the  enterprise  as  soon  as 
they  got  tired  of  it.  Whilst  picking  up  one 
and  another  of  these  men  during  his  last 
stay  at  his  home  in  New  York,  Kidd,  one 
would  think,  must  often  have  regretted  that 
he  had  embarked  on  this  miserable  busi- 
ness. But  he  seems  to  have  been  upheld  not 
only  then  but  till  the  day  of  his  death  by  a 
childhke  belief  in  the  great  men  whose  ser- 
vice he  had  entered,  a  belief  which  was  pos- 
sibly shared  by  his  wife.  Money  was  not  a 
matter   of   great   importance   to   either   of 

43 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

them.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  she  was 
pleased  to  hear  about  her  husband's  great 
friends,  his  interviews  with  them  in  Lon- 
don, and  what  they  were  likely  to  do  for  him 
and  her  when  he  had  successfully  completed 
his  task.  It  is  possible  that  she  may  have 
looked  forward  witli  some  complacency, 
poor  soul,  to  the  prospect  of  herself  associ- 
ating with  the  women  folk  of  these  great 
people.  Perhaps  she  even  dreamed  of  be- 
coming a  great  lady  herself.  Why  not? 
What  more  likely  than  that  her  husband 
would  be  knighted  by  the  King  for  his  ser- 
vices and  that  she  would  become  Lady 
Kidd? 

Starting  from  New  York  in  September 
in  command  of  his  imdisciplined  and  un- 
promising crew,  Kidd  proceeded  first  to  the 
Madeiras,  in  company  with  one  Joyner, 
master  of  a  brigantine  belonging  to  the  Ber- 
mudas. He  arrived  at  his  destination  on 
the  eighth  of  October.  Thence  they  sailed 
together  to  Bonavista,  where  they  stayed 

44 


r  " 


"ADVENTURE    GALLEY 

for  some  days  and  took  in  salt;  thence  to 
St.  Jago  where  they  watered ;  and  thence  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  On  the  twelfth  of 
December,  "  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-two," 
to  quote  from  Kidd's  narrative,  "  they  met 
with  five  English  men-of-war.  Captain 
Warren  was  commodore;  and  sailed  a  week 
in  their  company,  and  then  parted  and  sailed 
to  Telere,  a  port  in  the  Island  of  Madagas- 
car." Here  Kidd  failed  to  find  at  their 
usual  rendezvous  any  of  the  pirates  after 
whom  he  had  come,  and  concluding  that 
they  were  preying  on  the  Eastern  trade, 
continued  his  course  eastwards  in  pursuit  of 
them.  In  company  with  a  sloop  belonging 
to  Barbadoes,  which  had  come  in  at  Telere 
whilst  he  was  there,  he  sailed  to  the  Island  of 
Johanna  on  the  coast  of  Malabar.  There 
he  "  found  four  East  India  merchantmen 
outward  bound  and  watered  there  all  to- 
gether and  stayed  about  five  days.  From 
thence  about  the  twenty-second  of  March  he 
sailed  for  Mehila,  an  island  ten  leagues  dis- 

45 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

tant  from  Johanna,  where  he  arrived  the 
next  morning  and  careened  the  Galley'^ 
"  And  about  fifty  men  died  there  in  about 
a  week's  time,"  he  tells  us  pithily  and  with- 
out comment,  as  though  such  a  catastrophe 
was  an  ordinary  occurrence,  as  indeed  it 
probably  was  in  those  days  to  a  ship's  crew 
suddenly  attacked  by  cholera  or  plague  in 
those  parts.  These  deaths  seem  to  have 
induced  him  to  leave  that  coast  somewhat 
suddenly  and  to  seek  healthier  quarters. 
After  cruising  awhile  in  the  open  sea,  the 
only  known  specific  in  those  days  for  such 
mischances,  he  came  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Red  Sea,  obviously  a  likely  place  to  find 
the  pirates  in,  since  it  was  specifically  named 
in  the  Articles  of  Agreement  between  Bella- 
mont,  Livingstone,  and  himself  as  the  place 
in  which  the  pirates  of  whom  he  was  in  search 
intended  to  commit  their  depredations,  and 
the  date  of  the  sailing  of  the  Mecca  fleet  was 
approaching.  He  had  now  been  the  greater 
part  of  a  year  at  sea  without  taking  a  prize, 

46 


'ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

and  had  lost  more  than  a  third  of  his  crew 
by  sickness.  His  ship  had  grown  crazy  and 
leaky;  and  neither  he  nor  his  men  had  yet 
earned  a  penny.  No  wonder  that  his  ship's 
company  was  growing  discontented.  The 
wonder  is  that  Kidd  had  thus  far  been  able 
to  keep  them  fairly  in  hand,  which  it  is  ad- 
mitted he  had  done. 

On  reaching  the  Red  Sea,  he  waited  for 
three  weeks  at  Bab's  Key,  a  small  island  at 
its  entrance,  a  convenient  station  for  ob- 
serving all  ships  going  into  or  out  of  that 
sea.  It  was  alleged  at  his  trial  by  Palmer, 
one  of  the  two  men  who  became  King's  evi- 
dence, that  he  said  on  one  occasion  to  his 
men,  whilst  waiting  here,  "  Come,  boys,  I 
will  make  money  enough  out  of  that  fleet." 
Little  credence  is  to  be  attached  to  Palmer's 
evidence,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter.  But  as- 
suming that  Kidd  made  use  of  these  words, 
they  are  susceptible  of  a  perfectly  innocent 
interpretation.  Kidd  was  on  the  lookout 
not  only  for  pirates  but  also  for  French 

47 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ships.  It  was  not  improbable  that  some  of 
the  vessels  in  the  Mecca  fleet  would  be  ships 
belonging  to  Frenchmen,  or  saihng  under 
French  colours  to  the  French  factories  in 
India,  in  which  case  he  would  have  had  a 
perfect  right  to  seize  them  under  his  letters 
of  marque.  It  was  also  by  no  means  im- 
probable that  he  might  catch  some  of  the 
Madagascar  pirates  in  pursuit  of,  or  possi- 
bly in  possession  of,  the  fleet  or  some  part 
of  it,  in  which  case  it  would  clearly  have 
been  his  bounden  dutj^  imder  his  commission 
to  seize  the  pirates  and  the  ships  which  they 
had  captured.  In  either  of  these  events  he 
would,  to  use  the  words  attributed  to  him 
by  Palmer,  have  made  money  enough  out  of 
the  fleet. 

There  is  some  conflict  of  evidence  as  to 
what  actually  happened  on  the  fourteenth  of 
August,  when  the  fleet  came  by.  One  thing 
is  certain,  that  either  before  or  after  Kidd 
came  among  them,  they  flew  English  and 
Dutch  colours,  and  that  a  fire  was  opened 

48 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

on  Kidd  from  one  or  both  of  their  convoys. 
It  also  appears  that  "  sundry  shots  were 
fired  from  Kidd's  sliip,"  possibly  with  the 
object  of  bringing  the  ships  to,  in  order  that 
explanations  might  be  forthcoming  from 
both  sides.  On  this  point  an  attempt  made 
on  the  part  of  the  prosecution  by  both  their 
witnesses  to  mislead  the  jury  was  frus- 
trated by  Kidd.  Palmer  had  led  them  to 
believe  that  Kidd  was  the  aggressor.  "  I 
ask  this  one  thing,"  said  Kidd.  "  Did  the 
Mecca  fleet  fire  first  at  me  or  I  at  them? " 

Palmer.    "No;   they  fired  first." 

Kidd.  "  And  just  now,  the  other  "  (that 
is,  Bradenham)  *'  said  I  fired  first.  Is  he 
not  perjured? " 

Mr.  Justice  Turton.  "  Mr.  Bradenham, 
did  he  fire  first  or  no? " 

Bradenham.  "  He  fired  at  them.  I 
only  said,  you  fired  at  them.  I  did  not  say 
first  or  last." 

No  harm  was  done  by  the  shots  on  either 
side;  and  the  fleet  went  by  without  any  in- 

49 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

terchange  of  explanations.  It  was  no  fault 
of  Kidd's  that  its  convoys  mistook  him  for 
a  pirate,  of  which  there  were  undoubtedly 
plenty  in  those  parts.  But  the  failure  of 
his  plan  to  make  money  out  of  it  cannot 
have  added  to  his  prestige  with  his  crew. 

Leaving  Bab's  Key,  the  Adventure  Gal- 
ley stood  back  across  the  Arabian  Sea  and 
cruised  again  along  the  coast  of  Malabar, 
the  only  coast  on  which  there  is  the  slightest 
suggestion  that  Kidd  ever  committed  any 
act  of  piracy.  In  considering  liis  doings  and 
those  of  his  men  here,  and  the  construction 
placed  on  them  first  by  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, and  afterwards  by  the  prosecution  at 
his  trial,  several  things  must  be  borne  in 
mind.  At  that  time  there  were  in  India  not 
only  English,  but  Portuguese  and  French 
factories.  Little  love  was  lost  between 
them,  and  there  was  open  war  between  Eng- 
land and  France.  English  and  American 
pirates  had  been  for  some  time  past  preying 
on  the  coast  trade,  and  the  Adventure  Gal- 

50 


"ADVENTURE    GALLEY" 

ley  might  very  reasonably  be  mistaken  for  a 
pirate  by  any  ship  which  she  chased.  The 
coast  trade  was  carried  on  mainly  in  ves- 
sels manned  by  Asiatics  with,  in  some  cases, 
two  or  three  Europeans  on  board.  The  wily 
Indian  had  by  this  time  learned  the  advan- 
tage of  carrying  Europeans  of  more  than 
one  nationahty  in  each  ship,  so  that  if 
caught  by  a  ship  carrying  French  colours, 
he  might  produce  a  Frenchman  as  the 
owner,  and  if  caught  by  an  English  ship  an 
Englishman.  It  was  Kidd's  plain  duty  to 
take  as  prizes  any  French  vessels  he  came 
across,  and  with  that  end  in  view  to  examine 
carefully  every  ship  which  he  had  reason  to 
suspect  was  French.  He  knew  very  little  of 
the  coast  or  of  the  Eastern  languages,  and 
stood  greatly  in  need  of  a  pilot  and  an  in- 
terpreter, or,  as  he  was  then  termed  by  sea- 
men, a  "  hnguister."  His  crew  were  becom- 
ing unruly,  and  whenever  he  left  his  ship  to 
examine  personally  any  suspected  prize,  he 
ran  the  risk  of  their  putting  to  sea  and  leav- 

51 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ing  him  in  the  lurch.  The  first  vessel  he  was 
accused  at  his  trial  of  having  plundered  was 
a  small  one,  of  little  value,  manned  by  Ar- 
menians, with  two  Europeans  on  board, 
an  Englishman  and  a  Portuguese.  He  en- 
gaged the  Englisliman  as  a  pilot  and  the 
Portuguese  as  a  "  linguister."  There  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  both  these  men  were 
thankful  to  get  on  board  a  European  ship 
again  and  to  join  his  ship's  company,  as 
others  in  similar  circumstances  admittedly 
did  afterwards. 

The  ship  itself  with  its  Armenian  crew  he 
allowed  to  proceed  on  its  course  after  a  few 
days*  detention.  Before  it  left  him,  some 
misunderstanding  seems  unfortunately  to 
have  arisen  between  the  English  seamen  on 
board  of  her  and  the  Armenians;  and  it  is 
alleged  that  on  this  occasion  the  former 
hung  up  four  of  the  latter  and  spanked 
them  with  the  flats  of  their  cutlasses. 
Kidd's  defence,  and  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  it  was  a  perfectly  genuine  de- 

52 


ADVENTURE    GALLEY 


?» 


fence  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  was  that 
he  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  this 
fracas  and  that  he  did  not  go  on  board  the 
ship  at  all.  It  was  further  alleged  by  the 
King's  evidence  that  his  men  took  out  of 
her  a  bale  of  coffee  and  a  bale  of  pepper 
and  some  beeswax.  Whether  they  neg- 
lected to  give  adequate  money  or  goods  in 
exchange  is  not  stated,  but  as  it  is  admitted 
that  Kidd  trafficked  with  many  of  the  ships 
which  he  met  on  this  coast,  it  is  not  unrea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  he  did  so  with  this 
one.  At  any  rate,  there  is  no  good  reason 
to  believe  that  he  was  a  party  to  the  theft 
of  these  paltry  articles. 

The  next  vessel  he  met  was  a  Portuguese 
man-of-war  which  attacked  him  without  the 
slightest  provocation,  taking  him  possibly 
for  one  of  the  pirates  of  whom  he  was  in 
quest,  or  possibly  for  some  less  reputable 
reason.  Here  again.  Palmer,  the  King's 
evidence,  tried  to  give  the  jury  the  false  im- 
pression that  Kidd  was  the  aggressor. 

53 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Palmer.  "  He  met  a  Portuguese  ship 
and  fought  her." 

KiDD.    "Who  fired  first?" 

Palmer.    "  The  Portuguese  fired  first." 

Kidd's  narrative  written  before  he  was 
taken  into  custody,  or  had  any  reason  to 
believe  that  he  would  be  called  to  account 
for  this  incident,  goes  more  fully  into  this 
matter.  Though  from  other  parts  of  his  nar- 
rative he  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  few 
words,  he  waxes  eloquent  on  this  occasion. 
It  appears  that  he  had  been  into  Carra- 
warr  a  few  days  before,  to  water.  "  There 
the  gentlemen  of  the  English  factory,"  he 
says,  "  gave  the  narrator  an  account  that 
the  Portuguese  were  fitting  out  two  men- 
of-war  to  take  him,  and  advised  him  to  put 
to  sea,  and  to  take  care  of  himself  from 
them,  and  immediately  to  set  sail  thereupon. 
And  the  next  morning  about  break  of  day 
he  saw  the  said  two  men-of-war  standing 
for  the  said  Galley,  and  they  spoke  with 
him,  and  asked  him  whence  he  was.     Who 

54 


"ADVENTURE    GALLEY 


»» 


replied,  from  London,  and  they  returned 
answer,  from  Goa;  and  so  parted,  wishing 
each  other  a  good  voyage.  And  still  sail- 
ing along  the  coast,  the  Commodore  of  the 
said  man-of-war  kept  dogging  the  said 
Galley  all  the  night,  waiting  an  opportu- 
nity to  board  her ;  and  in  the  morning  with- 
out speaking  a  word,  fired  six  great  guns  at 
the  Galley,  some  whereof  went  through  her 
and  wounded  four  of  his  men.  And  there- 
upon he  fired  upon  him  again,  and  the  fight 
continued  all  day;  and  the  Narrator  had 
eleven  men  wounded.  The  other  Portu- 
guese man-of-war  lay  some  distance  off  and 
could  not  come  up  with  the  Galley,  being 
calm ;  else  would  likewise  have  assaulted  the 
same.  The  said  fight  was  sharp,  and  the 
said  Portuguese  left  the  said  Galley  with 
such  satisfaction,  that  the  narrator  believes 
no  Portuguese  will  ever  attack  the  King's 
colours  again  in  that  part  of  the  world  espe- 
cially." In  reading  this  narrative,  it  should 
be  remembered  that  Kidd  was  no  bragga- 

55 


THE   REAL   CAPTAIN    KIDD 

docio;  but  a  plain  sea  captain  who  had  ad- 
mittedly greatly  distinguished  himself  in  the 
war,  which  was  still  in  progress  against  the 
French. 

The  next  enormity  with  which  he  was 
charged  at  his  trial  was  cruelty  to  the  na- 
tives. It  appears  that  he  had  sent  some  of 
his  men  ashore  at  one  of  the  Malabar 
Islands  for  wood  and  water;  and  the  na- 
tives having  cut  one  of  their  throats,  he 
caused  one  native  to  be  shot  by  way  of  re- 
prisal. The  manner  in  which  capital  was 
attempted  to  be  made  by  the  prosecution 
out  of  this  incident  appears  plainly  from  the 
verbatim  report  of  the  King's  evidence.  In 
reply  to  a  question  by  the  coimsel  for  the 
prosecution,  as  to  what  Kidd  had  done  after 
fighting  with  the  Portuguese  man-of-war, 
Bradenham  replied,  "  We  went  to  one  of 
the  Malabar  islands  for  wood  and  water, 
and  Captain  Kidd  went  ashore  and  several 
of  his  men,  and  plundered  several  boats 
and  burnt  several  huts,   and  ordered  one 

56 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

of  the  natives  to  be  tied  to  a  tree  and 
one  of  his  men  to  shoot  him."  Hoping 
apparently  to  bring  some  further  atroci- 
ties to  light,  comisel  proceeded  to  ask, 
"  What  was  the  reason  for  his  shooting  this 
Indian?" 

The  answer  he  got  from  Bradenham,  his 
own  witness,  was,  "  One  of  his  men  that  was 
his  cooper  had  been  ashore,  and  some  of  the 
natives  had  cut  his  throat,  and  that  was  the 
reason  he  ordered  his  men  to  serve  this  man 
so."  Needless  to  say,  counsel  pursued  the 
subject  no  further. 

Whatever  his  men's  inclinations  may  have 
been  at  this  time,  the  next  untoward  inci- 
dent recorded  of  his  doings  on  this  coast 
conclusively  shows  that  it  was  Kidd's  firm 
determination  that  his  men  should  not  be 
guilty  of  piracy.  He  came  across  a  Dutch 
ship,  The  Loyal  Captain^  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Hoar.  The  greater  part 
of  his  crew  were  undoubtedly  in  favor  of 
seizing  this  ship,  and  it  is  indisputable  that 

57 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Kidd  prevented  them  from  attempting  it. 
Kidd's  own  account  at  his  trial,  was  as 
follows : 

*'  My  lord,  I  will  tell  you  what  the  case 
was.  I  was  coming  up  within  a  league  of 
this  Dutchman,  and  some  of  my  men  were 
making  a  mutiny  about  taking  her,  and  my 
gunner  "  (Moore)  "  told  the  people  he  could 
put  the  captain  in  a  way  to  take  the  ship 
and  be  safe.  Says  I,  *  How  will  you  do 
that? '  The  gunner  answers,  '  We  will  get 
the  captain  and  men  aboard.'  *  And  what 
then  ? '  '  We  will  go  aboard  the  ship  and 
plunder  her,  and  we  could  have  it  under 
their  hands  that  we  did  not  take  her.'  Says 
I,  '  That  is  Judas-like.  I  dare  not  do  such 
a  thing.'  Says  he,  '  We  may  do  it;  we  are 
beggars  already.'  '  Why,'  says  I,  *  may  we 
take  this  ship  because  we-are  poor? '  Upon 
that  a  mutiny  arose." 

Palmer,  the  King's  evidence,  admitted 
that  on  this  occasion  there  were  nine  men 
with  muskets  who  were  for  taking  the  ship 

58 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY  " 

and  that  Kidd  was  against  their  doing  so. 
The  same  incident  was  thus  described  at  the 
trial  by  Parrott,  one  of  the  youngsters  of  the 
crew,  a  Plymouth  boy  of  nineteen  years  of 
age  at  the  date  of  the  trial. 

"  I  shall  tell  you  how  it  happened  accord- 
ing to  the  best  of  my  knowledge.  The  com- 
mander fortuned  to  come  up  with  this 
Captain  Hoar's  ship,  and  some  were  for 
taking  her,  and  some  not.  And  afterwards 
there  was  a  little  sort  of  a  mutiny  and  some 
were  in  arms,  the  greater  part.  And  they 
said  they  would  take  the  ship.  And  the 
commander  was  not  for  it;  and  so  they 
resolved  to  go  away  in  a  boat  and  take  her. 
Captain  Kidd  said :  '  If  you  desert  my  ship, 
you  shall  never  come  aboard  again,  and  I 
will  force  you  into  Bombay,  and  I  will  carry 
you  before  some  of  the  council  there.'  In- 
somuch that  my  commander  stilled  them, 
and  they  remained  on  board." 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  although  for 
the  nonce  the  mutiny  was  quelled,  it  left  bad 

59 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

blood  behind  between  Kidd  and  Moore,  the 
spokesman  of  the  mutineers.  About  a  fort- 
night afterwards  another  altercation  arose 
between  them,  which  ended  in  Kidd's  knock- 
ing Moore  down  with  a  bucket.  According 
to  Parrott,  it  arose  in  this  way:  "Moore 
said,  '  Captain,  I  could  have  put  you  in  the 
way  to  have  taken  the  ship,  and  have  never 
been  the  worse  for  it.'  He  says,  '  Would 
you  have  me  take  this  ship?  I  cannot  an- 
swer it.  They  are  our  friends ! '  And  my 
conmiander  was  in  a  passion,  and  with  that 
I  went  off  the  deck.  I  understand  that 
afterwards  the  blow  was  given,  but  how  I 
cannot  tell." 

From  the  evidence  given  by  the  cook  and 
a  seaman  named  Barlicorn,  who  remained 
on  deck,  it  appears  that  Moore  upbraided 
Kidd  and  said,  "  You  have  brought  us  to 
ruin,  and  we  are  desolate;  "  and  that  Kidd 
said,  "  Have  I  brought  you  to  ruin?  I 
have  not  done  an  ill  thing  to  ruin  you.  You 
are  a  saucy   fellow  to   say   those   words." 

60 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

And  then  he  took  up  the  bucket  and  gave 
him  a  blow  with  it. 

The  version  given  by  Palmer,  the  King's 
evidence,  was  this:  "Captain  Kidd  came 
and  walked  upon  the  deck,  and  walks  by  this 
Moore.  And  when  he  came  to  him  he  says, 
'  Which  way  could  you  have  put  me  in  a 
way  to  take  this  ship  and  been  clear? '  '  Sir,' 
says  Moore,  '  I  never  spoke  such  a  word  nor 
ever  thought  such  a  thing.'  Upon  which 
Captain  Kidd  called  him  '  a  lousie  dog.' 
And  says  William  Moore,  '  If  I  am  a  lousie 
dog,  you  have  made  me  so.  You  have 
brought  me  to  ruin  and  many  more.'  Upon 
his  saying  this,  says  Captain  Kidd,  '  Have 
I  ruined  you,  you  dog? '  and  took  the  bucket 
and  struck  him  on  the  right  side  of  his  head, 
of  which  he  died  the  next  day.  Repeating 
the  words  two  or  three  times,  he  took  a  turn 
or  two  on  the  deck  and  then  struck  him." 

Kidd  admitted  at  the  trial  that  he  had 
given  the  blow;  but  pleaded  that  he  had  all 
the  provocation   in  the   world   given  him; 

61 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

that  he  had  no  design  to  kill  Moove  and  no 
malice  or  spleen  against  him.  It  was  not 
done  designedly  but  in  his  passion,  for  which 
he  was  heartily  sorrj^ 

It  is  not  certain  that  Moore  died  of  the 
blow,  for  one  witness  deposed  that  Braden- 
ham,  the  surgeon,  who  subsequently  de- 
serted Kidd  at  Madagascar  to  join  the 
pirate  Culliford,  said  at  the  time,  "  This 
blow  was  not  the  cause  of  his  death,"  and 
that  Moore  had  been  on  the  sick  list  for  some 
time  before.  It  is  only  fair  to  say,  however, 
that  Bradenham  denied  this. 

Whether  or  not  Moore  died  from  the 
blow,  it  is  clear  that  he  was  the  spokesman 
of  the  mutineers  on  the  two  occasions  on 
which  dispute  arose  between  Kidd  and  his 
crew  as  to  the  plundering  of  the  Dutch  ship, 
that  lie  upbraided  Kidd  for  his  not  allowing 
his  men  to  commit  a  gross  act  of  piracy,  and 
that  his  death  had  the  effect  of  quieting  the 
mutineers  for  a  while. 

Coming  next  to  the  two  cases  in  which 

62 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

Kidd  did  take  prizes  in  the  course  of  this 
voyage,  according  to  his  own  ilhterate  but 
intelligible  narrative,  he  met  in  November, 
1697,  "  A  Moore's  ship  of  about  200  tons, 
coming  from  Surratt,  bound  for  the  coast 
of  Malabar,  loaded  with  two  horses,  sugar, 
and  cotton  in  trade  there,  having  about  40 
Moors  on  board,  with  a  Dutch  pilot,  boats- 
wain and  gunner,  which  said  ship  the  narra- 
tor hailed  and  commanded  "  [  ?  The  Master] 
"  on  board.  And  with  him  came  eight  or 
nine  of  the  Moors  and  the  three  Dutchmen 
who  declared  it  was  a  Moor's  ship  and " 
(were)  "  demanded  their  pass  from  Surrat, 
which  they  showed  and  the  same  was  a 
French  pass  which  he  believes  was  shown 
by  mistake.  For  the  pilot  swore  sacramen- 
tally  she  was  a  prize  and  staid  on  board  the 
Galley  and  would  not  return  on  board  the 
Moor's  ship,  but  went  in  the  Galley  to  the 
port  of  St.  Marie's."  ^ 

*  The  port  of  Madagascar  to  which  she  was  afterwards 
taken. 

63 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

This  statement  is  corroborated  by  such  of 
his  crew  as  returned  with  him  to  America, 
from  whose  depositions  it  further  appears 
that  all  the  Christians  ultimately  remained 
in  the  Galley  and  "  took  up  arms  there," 
that  the  Moors  had  the  long  boat  given 
them  to  go  on  shore,  which  was  two  leagues 
distant;  and  that  Captain  Kidd  and  his 
men  sold  the  cotton  and  horses  to  the  natives 
of  the  country  for  money  and  gold,  but  kept 
the  ship  itself  with  them  and  carried  her  to 
Madagascar,  the  Galley  being  very  leaky. 
The  King's  evidence  against  Kidd  was  prac- 
tically to  the  same  effect. 

This  was  a  prize  of  no  great  value,  but 
such  as  it  was  he  and  his  men  were  no  doubt 
glad  enough  to  lay  hands  on  it.  For  they 
must  by  this  time  have  been  running  short  of 
money,  and  it  was  the  first  capture  they  had 
made.  Moreover,  their  own  ship  being  very 
leaky,  they  were  glad  to  keep  it  in  company. 

Shortly  afterwards,  on  the  fifth  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1698,  they  came  across  a  very  differ- 

64 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

ent  ship,  the  Quedagh  Merchant,  an  ex- 
tremely valuable  prize.  Sailing  under 
French  colours,  as  Kidd  frankly  admits 
"  with  a  design  to  decoy,"  he  met,  to  quote 
his  own  words,  "  with  a  Bengal  merchant- 
man belonging  to  Surratt  of  the  burden  of 
four  or  five  hundred  tons,  and  he  com- 
manded the  master  on  board.  And  a 
Frenchman,  an  inhabitant  of  Surratt,  and 
belonging  to  the  French  factory  there,  came 
on  board  as  master;  and  when  he  came  on 
board  the  narrator  caused  the  English 
colours  to  be  hoisted  and  the  said  master 
was  surprised  and  said,  '  You  are  English,' 
and  asking  which  was  the  captain.  Whom 
when  he  saw,  he  said, '  Here  is  a  good  prize,' 
and  delivered  him  the  French  pass." 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  this  is 
not  a  perfectly  correct  account  of  the  taking 
of  the  ship ;  but  for  the  capture  of  which  it 
is  improbable  that  any  complaint  against 
Kidd  would  ever  have  been  made  by  the 
East    India    Company.      Kidd's    own    ac- 

65 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

count  of  the  capture  is  corroborated  even  by, 
the  King's  evidence,  Bradenham,  who  states 
that  Kidd  chased  the  ship  under  French 
colours,  and  that  when  he  came  up  with  her 
he  commanded  the  master  on  board.  "  And 
there  came,"  he  says,  "  an  old  Frenchman  in 
the  boat;  and  after  he  had  been  aboard 
awhile "  (mark  the  subtlety  of  the  word 
"  awhile."  Who  would  have  conceived  that 
it  meant  five  or  six  days?),  "he  told  Cap- 
tain Kidd  that  he  was  not  the  captain  but 
the  gunner,  and  Kidd  sent  for  the  captain, 
whose  name  was  Wright."  Palmer,  the 
other  King's  evidence,  says  he  was  not  on 
board  when  the  ship  was  taken.  At  the 
trial  Kidd  went  more  fully  into  this  inci- 
dent than  in  his  narrative.  "  My  lord,"  he 
said,  "  this  Frenchman  was  aboard  for  five 
or  six  days  before  I  understood  there  was 
any  Englishman  aboard.  '  Well? '  said  I. 
'  What  are  you  ?  —  an  Englisliman  ? '  'I 
am,  master.'  '  What  have  you  to  show  for 
it?'    'Nothing.'" 

66 


"ADVENTURE    GALLEY" 

Fortunately  the  French  passes  given  to 
Kidd  on  the  taking  of  both  prizes  were  care- 
fully preserved  by  him.  He  sent  them  to 
the  Earl  of  Bellamont  on  his  first  arrival  in 
American  waters,  and  Bellamont  forwarded 
them  to  the  Admiralty.  They  were  in- 
cluded amongst  the  papers  relating  to  Kidd, 
delivered  in  at  the  clerk's  table  of  the  House 
of  Commons  by  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  to  sort  the  papers  received 
from  Bellamont  and  report  thereon.  Ver- 
batim copies  of  them  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Journals  of  the  House  of  Conmions  (Vol. 
13,  page  21 ) ,  and  are  printed  in  Appendix 
C  of  this  work.  They  constitute  the  most 
important  documentary  evidence  that  could 
have  been  forthcoming  at  Kidd's  trial;  but 
although  the  Admiralty  officials  had  them 
in  their  possession,  and  the  House  of  Com- 
mons had  directed  that  Kidd  should  have 
access  to  them,  and  although  Kidd  pleaded 
hard  for  a  postponement  of  his  trial  in  order 
that  they  might  be  produced,  not  only  were 

67 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

they  not  produced,  but  the  jury  and  judge 
were  led  to  suppose  that  they  existed  only 
in  Kidd's  imagination. 

The  belated  suggestion  made  by  the  Eng- 
lishman Wright  that  he  was  the  master  of 
the  ship,  coupled  with  an  offer  on  the  part 
of  the  Armenians  to  redeem  the  prize  for 
twenty  thousand  rupees,  a  wholly  inade- 
quate sum,^  seems  to  have  raised  some  doubt 
in  Kidd's  cautious  Scotch  mind  as  to  the 
expediency  of  carrying  off  the  ship  to 
America  in  accordance  with  his  sailing 
orders.  He  called  his  crew  on  deck  and  con- 
sulted them  as  to  the  course  they  should 
take.  They  voted  not  to  accept  the  prof- 
fered ransom  but  to  take  her  to  Madagascar, 
which  he  decided  to  do,  Madagascar  lying 
in  the  direct  route  for  America.  His  sailing 
orders  ^  from  Bellamont  as  to  the  course  he 
should  take  with  any  prizes  were  explicit. 

^  In  the  petition  of  Cogi  Babba  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons she  is  said  to  have  cost  forty  thousand  rupees  and 
her  cargo  four  hundred  thousand. 

^  These  sailing  orders  will  be  found  in  Appendix  A. 

68 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

They  were :  "  You  are  to  sail  directly  to 
Boston  or  New  England,  there  to  deliver  to 
me  the  whole  of  the  prizes,  treasure,  mer- 
chandise, and  other  things  you  shall  have 
taken  by  virtue  of  the  powers  and  authori- 
ties granted  you."  The  only  contingency  in 
which  he  might  depart  from  them  was,  "  if 
you  shall  fall  in  with  any  English  ship 
bound  for  England  having  good  convoy, 
you  are  in  such  case  to  keep  them  company 
and  bring  all  your  prizes  to  London."  It 
is  difficult  to  see  how,  in  the  face  of  these 
orders,  he  could  have  done  otherwise  than 
take  his  two  prizes  to  Madagascar. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  set  sail  at  once 
with  both;  and  according  to  his  narrative 
"  saihng  thither  the  Galley  was  so  leaky 
that  they  feared  she  would  have  sunk  every 
hour;  and  it  required  eight  men  every  two 
glasses  to  keep  her  free;  and"  (he)  "was 
forced  to  woold  her  round  with  cables  to 
keep  her  together,  and  with  much  ado 
carried  her  into  the  port  of   St.   Marie's, 

69 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

where  they  arrived  the  first  day  of  April, 
1698." 

On  her  way  to  Madagascar  the  Adven- 
ture Galley  unfortunately  seems  to  have 
fallen  in  with  a  Portuguese  shix).  Accord- 
ing to  the  deposition  ^  of  William  Jinkins, 
a  London  lad,  one  of  the  boys  who  had  re- 
mained faithful  to  Kidd,  "  she  also  in  her 
passage  to  St.  Marie's  aforesaid  took  a 
Bark  or  Ship,  navigated  with  Portuguese. 
She  came  from  Bengali  and  was  bound  to 
Goa,  and  had  on  board,  Bengalis,  Muslins, 
Calicoes,  and  other  things,  which  the  Gal- 
ley's Company  began  to  plunder  and  bring 
on  board  the  Galley:  but  seeing  several 
Ships  coming  towards  them  the  said  Galley 
with  the  other  two  prizes  she  had  taken, 
came  to  sail,  and  left  the  said  last  Prize  at  a 
place  between  Brin  John  and  Angingo,  so 
called  from  being  an  English  and  Dutch 
factory;  and  left  on  board  the  same  all  the 
company    belonging    thereto,    except    the 

*  See  Appendix  B. 
70 


T  '> 


'ADVENTURE    GALLEY 

Master  Merchant  and  seven  men  more  that 
had  come  on  board  the'  Galley,  when  she 
first  took  the  said  Ship."  This  deposition 
made  two  years  before  Kidd's  trial  was  con- 
firmed in  substance  by  two  other  lads,  Barli- 
corn  and  Lumlev.  At  the  trial,  Braden- 
ham,  the  King's  evidence,  told  the  story 
thus :  "  We  met  with  a  Portuguese  ship  off 
the  coast  of  Malabar  and  he  "  {i.  e.,  Kidd) 
"  took  her  and  he  took  out  of  her  some 
opium,  some  East  India  goods,  some  plun- 
der and  sixty  or  seventy  bags  of  rice." 
Asked  by  Kidd  whether  he  had  seen  them 
brought  on  board,  Bradenham  evaded  the 
question  by  saying:  "  I  am  answering  the 
bench."  In  reply  to  a  further  question  by 
the  Solicitor  General,  *'  Were  there  any 
other  goods,"  he  replied:  "Yes,  there  was 
bees'  wax  and  thirty  jars  of  butter." 

This  is  the  only  vessel  with  respect  to 
which  there  is  any  good  ground  for  suspect- 
ing that  Kidd's  proceedings  were  irregular. 
His  omission  to  make  any  reference  to  this 

71 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ship  in  his  narrative  is  significant;  and 
points  to  the  conclusion  that  he  felt  some 
difficulty  in  justif3ang  what  had  been  done. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  he  was  forced  by 
stress  of  circumstances  to  acquiesce  in  what 
was  undoubtedly  an  act  of  piracy  on  the 
part  of  his  crew,  though  it  may  have  been 
regarded  by  them  as  a  very  justifiable  re- 
prisal for  the  damage  and  loss  of  life  which 
the  Galley  had  sustained  by  the  recent  un- 
provoked attack  of  the  Portuguese  man-of- 
war.  That  Kidd  was  placed  by  their  action 
in  this  case  in  great  difficulty  is  obvious.  In 
their  then  temper,  it  is  unlikely  that  if  he 
had  had  time  to  reason  with  them,  he  could 
have  induced  them  to  return  to  the  Portu- 
guese the  goods  they  had  wrongfully 
brought  on  board  the  Galley.  As  it  was,  the 
sudden  appearance  of  several  other  ships 
bearing  down  on  them  left  him  no  alterna- 
tive, but  either  to  make  off  at  once,  or  to 
hand  over  the  wrongdoers  to  be  dealt  with 
by  their  enemies,  who  might  in  the  mean- 

72 


"ADVENTURE  GALLEY" 

while  themselves  make  off  with  his  two  law- 
ful prizes.  Kidd's  paramount  object  dur- 
ing his  voyage  seems  to  have  been  to  do  his 
best  for  his  employers,  and  he  may  well  have 
thought  that  it  was  not  to  their  interest  that 
he  should  await  the  arrival  of  the  approach- 
ing ships. 


73 


CHAPTER    THREE 


CHAPTER   III 

kidd's  return  home 

HAD  Kidd  been  fortunate  enough  on 
his  first  visit  to  Madagascar  to  find  his 
pirates  there,  it  is  possible  but  not  very- 
probable  that  his  crew  might  have  done  their 
best  to  kill  or  catch  their  fellow-countrymen, 
who  were  preying  on  the  Indian  commerce. 
On  the  other  hand,  had  he  not  been  so  un- 
fortunate as  to  find  the  pirates  awaiting  him 
there  on  his  way  back  to  Boston,  he  would 
probably  have  been  able  to  bring  his  two 
prizes  home  safely  within  a  reasonable  time 
and  have  ended  his  voyage  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  his  employers  and  with  credit  to  him- 
self. Even  as  it  was,  had  he  been  in  com- 
mand of  a  disciplined  crew,  as  determined 
as  their  captain  was,  faithfully  to  discharge 
the  painful  duties  they  had  undertaken,  his 

77 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIX    KIDD 

finding  the  pirates  at  St.  Marie's  would  have 
given  him  a  fair  chance  of  crowning  his  pa- 
tient efforts  with  a  success  which  might  have 
been  handed  down  to  posterity  as  a  proof 
of  the  fortitude  by  which  a  great  Scotch 
sea  captain  had  been  able  to  surmount  ap- 
j)arently  insuperable  difficulties.  But  it 
would  be  hard  to  find  in  history,  sacred  or 
profane,  an  unluckier  man  than  Kidd.  The 
Adventure  Galley  came  back  to  Madagas- 
car in  a  sinking  condition,  with  her  crew  on 
the  brink  of  mutiny,  worn  out  with  repeated 
mishaps,  having  lost  a  large  number  of  their 
fellows  by  sickness,  disgusted  at  the  ill-luck 
and  strait-laced  proceedings  of  their  con- 
scientious commander,  in  possession,  it  is 
true,  of  a  rich  prize,  but  in  some  doubt, 
owing  to  his  hesitation  in  retaining  her, 
whether,  when  they  got  to  Boston,  questions 
as  to  the  legality  of  the  capture,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  their  recent  misconduct  in  rifling  the 
Portuguese  ship,  might  not  be  raised,  end- 
ing in  their  getting  no  pay  whatever  for 

78 


KIDD'S    RETURN    HOME 

between  two  and  three  years'  heavy  and 
perilous  work,  and  possibly  in  their  being 
thrown  into  gaol  by  Bellamont  for  piracy. 
Probably  they  would  have  mutinied  long 
before,  if  they  could  have  found  a  capable 
leader  with  the  necessary  knowledge  of 
navigation  to  take  Kidd's  place.  As  it  was, 
Avhen  they  found  their  fellow-countrymen 
at  St.  Marie's,  living  on  the  fat  of  the  land 
on  cargoes  taken  from  the  Moors,  under  an 
adventurous  and  successful  commander, 
CuUiford,  who  had  stolen  an  East  Indiaman 
from  his  employers,  and  was  now  reaping  a 
rich  harvest  from  his  villainy,  it  was  no  won- 
der that  the  greater  part  of  Kidd's  men  at 
once  decided  to  throw  in  their  lot  with  him, 
rather  than  stand  by  Kidd  in  an  internecine 
Struggle  with  their  fellow-countrymen,  in 
which  success  was  more  than  doubtful,  and  if 
attained  would  necessitate  their  carrying 
their  conquered  compatriots  in  chains  to  an 
English  port,  there  to  be  handed  over  to  the 
authorities  with  a  view  to  their  being  hung 

79 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

as  pirates,  for  what  was  regarded  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  seamen  on  both  sides  as  the 
very  venial  offence  of  plundering  the  ene- 
mies of  Christianity.  The  catastrophe 
which  now  befell  was  the  inevitable  sequence 
of  what  had  gone  before,  and  what  Kidd 
found  awaiting  him  on  his  arrival  at  Mada- 
gascar. 

Let  him  tell  the  tale  in  his  own  simple 
words.^ 

"  When  the  Narrator  arrived  at  the  said 
Port,  there  was  a  Pirate  Ship,  called  the 
Moca  Frigate,  at  an  anchor,  Robert  Culli- 
ford  Commander  thereof,  who  with  his  men 
left  the  same  at  his  coming  and  ran  into  the 
woods.  And  the  Narrator  proposed  to  his 
men  to  take  the  same,  having  sufficient 
power  and  authority  so  to  do.  But  the  mu- 
tinous crew  told  him,  '  If  he  offered  the 
same,  they  would  rather  fire  ten  guns  into 
him  than  one  into  the  other,'  and  thereupon 
ninety-seven  men  deserted,  and  went  into 

'  See  Appendix  B. 
80 


KIDD'S    RETURN    HOME 

the  Moca  Frigate^  and  sent  into  the  woods 
for  the  said  pirates,  and  brought  the  said 
Culhford  and  his  men  on  board  again,  and 
all  the  time  he  stayed  in  the  said  port  the 
said  deserters  sometimes  in  great  numbers 
came  on  board  the  said  Galley  and  Adven- 
ture Prize,  and  carried  away  great  guns, 
Powder,  Shot,  small  arms,  sails.  Anchors, 
Cables,  Surgeon's  chest,  and  what  else  they 
pleased;  and  threatened  several  times  to 
murder  the  Narrator,  as  he  was  informed 
and  advised  to  take  care  of  himself,  which 
they  designed  in  the  night  to  effect;  but 
was  [sic]  prevented  by  his  locking  himself 
in  his  cabin  at  night,  and  securing  himself 
by  barricading  the  same  with  bales  of  goods 
and  having  about  forty  small  arms  besides 
pistols,  ready  charged  to  keep  them  out." 

"  Their  wickedness  was  so  great  that  after 
they  had  plundered  and  ransacked  suffi- 
ciently, they  went  five  miles  off  to  one  Ed- 
ward Welche's  house,  where  his,  the  Nar- 
rator's chest  was  lodged,  and  broke  it  open 

81 


).' 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

and  took  out  ten  ounces  of  gold,  40  pound  of 
plate,  370  pieces  of  eight,  the  Narrator's 
Journal,  and  a  great  many  i^apers  that  be- 
longed to  him  and  the  People  of  New  York 
that  fitted  them  out." 

*'  About  the  fifteenth  of  June,  the  3Ioca 
Frigate  went  away,  being  manned  with 
about  130  men  and  forty  guns  bound  out 
to  take  all  nations.  It  was  then  that  the 
Narrator  was  left  only  with  13  men,  so  that 
the  Moors  he  had  to  pump  and  keep  the 
Adventure  Galley  above  water  being  car- 
ried away,  she  sank  in  the  harbour,  and  the 
Narrator  with  the  said  thirteen  men  went 
on  board  the  Adventure  Prize.'' 

Let  us  try  to  put  ourselves  in  Kidd's 
place,  when  the  bulk  of  his  men  went  over 
to  the  enemy.  Forcibly  deprived  of  his  com- 
mand at  the  moment  when  he  saw  success 
within  his  grasp;  deserted  by  nearly  all  his 
crew;  plundered  of  the  greater  part  of  the 
spoil  he  was  taking  home  to  his  employers; 
on   board  the   sinking  Adventure   Galley; 

S2 


KIDD'S   RETURN   HOME 

confined  to  his  stifling  cabin  with  its  barri- 
caded approaches.  What  course  can  it  be 
suggested  that  he  could  have  taken  and  have 
been  held  blameless  by  an  English  court? 
What  course  ought  any  man  to  have  taken 
in  his  place  who  sought  to  do  his  duty  by  his 
owners  ? 

It  would  have  been  a  mercy  to  him  and 
to  his  memory,  if  the  mutineers  had  then  and 
there  made  an  end  of  him.  But  to  have  done 
this,  they  must  have  stormed  his  cabin,  and 
they  dared  not  try  it.  They  knew  his  fight- 
ing record.  They  had  been  with  him  in  his 
encounter  with  the  Portuguese  man-of-war. 
None  knew  better  than  they  that  he  would 
sell  his  life  dearly.  Let  us  hope,  too,  that 
some  few  of  his  crew  stood  by  him  in  this 
emergency,  with  "  the  forty  loaded  small 
ai'ms,  besides  pistols."  But  although  the 
pirates  and  mutineers  could  not  make  an 
end  of  him,  it  was  equally  impossible  for  him 
to  take  the  offensive  against  them.  If 
neither   party   could   attack,   the   situation 

83 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

could  only  be  relieved  by  diplomacy.  The 
ultimate  solution  has  been  handed  down  to 
us  by  the  doubtful  testimony  of  one  or  two 
of  those  who  were  there.  We  are  left  to 
conjecture  the  intermediate  stages  of  the 
arrangement. 

According  to  the  evidence  the  Adventure 
Galley  was  brought  into  the  port  on  the  first 
of  April,  in  company  with  its  smaller  prize. 
The  Quedagh  Merchmit  did  not  come  in 
imtil  some  weeks  afterwards.  The  Moca 
Frigate,  as  already  stated,  went  away  on 
the  fifteenth  of  June,  leaving  Kidd  and  thir- 
teen men  behind.  In  the  interval  some  kind 
of  a  compact  seems  to  have  been  come  to,  by 
which  Kidd  undertook  not  to  molest  the 
pirates,  and  Culliford  agreed  to  let  Kidd 
keep  the  Quedagh  Merchant  and  a  certain 
quantity  of  the  goods  on  board  of  her.  It 
is  difficult  to  see  how  Kidd  in  his  then  posi- 
tion coidd  have  made  a  better  bargain  than 
this  for  the  great  men  who  were  employing 
him.     Judging  from  the  amount  of  specie 

84 


IvIDD'S    RETURN    HOME 

and  goods  which  he  succeeded  after  all  in 
bringing  to  America,  he  appears  to  have 
done  very  well  indeed  for  them.  Possibly 
the  canny  Scot,  notwithstanding  the  theft  of 
his  chest,  had  more  gold  and  valuables  con- 
cealed in  his  impenetrable  cabin  than  the  de- 
serters dreamed  of.  Possibly  some  of  his 
late  crew  had  consciences  and  were  willing 
to  let  him  off  cheaply.  Whatever  the  details 
of  the  arrangement  may  have  been,  it  is  un- 
likely that  he  could  in  any  case  have  saved 
himself  from  the  charge  brought  against 
him  at  his  trial,  on  which  the  judge  laid 
great  stress,  and  which  has  clung  to  him 
ever  since,  that  having  been  sent  out  to  catch 
the  pirates,  and  bring  them  home  with  him, 
he  had  on  the  first  occasion  on  which  he  had 
met  them,  promised  not  to  molest  them,  an 
offence  which  it  was  alleged  at  his  trial  that 
he  had  aggravated  by  drinking  deeply  from 
a  tub  of  "  bomboo  "  with  their  Captain  Cul- 
liford. 

The  word  "  bomboo  "  has  a  fine  piratical 

85 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

suggestiveness  about  it.  It  sounds  as  if 
it  were  some  weird  concoction  of  strong 
liquors,  which  carousing  pirates  in  their  un- 
holy orgies  were  wont  to  consume  by  the 
bucketfull.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  a 
very  innocent  beverage  made  of  water,  limes, 
and  sugar;  and  it  was  small  blame  to  poor 
Kidd  that  on  emerging  from  his  beleaguered 
cabin  in  that  hot  climate,  he  was  glad 
enough  to  take  a  long  drink  of  it,  when  at 
length  a  truc6  had  been  arranged.  Accord- 
ing to  the  King's  evidence  at  his  trial,  he 
solemnly  undertook  over  this  draught  of 
"  bomboo  "  not  to  molest  the  pirates,  and 
presumably  they  also  undertook  not  to 
molest  him.  The  alternative  very  possibly 
was  his  death  from  thirst  in  his  stuffy  cabin. 
Culliford's  men  outnumbered  his  by  ten  to 
one.  The  only  evidence  besides  his  own  that 
we  have  of  this  incident  was  that  given  at 
his  trial  by  two  of  his  crew,  who  had  deserted 
him  and  gone  over  to  the  enemy.  Kidd  not 
unnaturally  was  very  bitter  against  these 

86 


KIDD'S    RETURN   HOME 

two  men,  —  Bradenham  the  surgeon  and 
Palmer,  one  of  his  seamen  —  as  appears 
from  the  following  quotations  from  the  ver- 
batim report  of  his  trial. 

KiDD  {to  Bradenham),  "Did  you  not 
come  aboard  my  ship  and  rob  the  surgeon's 
chest?" 

Bradenham.   "  No,  I  did  not." 

KiDD.  "  Did  I  not  come  to  you  when  you 
went  away  and  met  you  on  the  deck,  and 
said,  '  Why  do  you  take  the  chest  away? '  " 

Bradenham.    "  No,  I  did  not  do  it." 

KiDD.    "  You  are  a  rogue." 

Again : 

KiDD. "  Mr.  Bradenham,  are  you  not 
promised  your  life  to  take  away  mine?  " 

Mr.  Justice  Turton.  "  He  is  not  bound 
to  answer  that  question.  He  is  very  fit  to 
be  made  an  evidence  of  the  King.  Perhaps 
there  can  be  no  other  in  this  case  than  such 
who  are  in  his  circumstances." 

In  other  words,  those  of  the  crew  who  had 
faithfully  stood  by  their  cantain,  and  helped 

87 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

him  to  bring  his  prize  home  to  America  in 
the  interests  of  their  employers,  one  of 
whom  was  the  King  himself,  could  not  be 
relied  on  as  witnesses.  The  only  witnesses 
who  could  be  trusted  to  swear  through  thick 
and  thin  against  Kidd,  were  two  men  who 
by  their  own  admission  had  deserted  their 
colours  and  joined  Culliford  in  open  piracy 
against  the  ships  of  all  nations. 

To  quote  again  from  the  verbatim  report : 

Kidd.  "  I  hope  the  King's  counsel  wiW 
not  put  him  in  the  way.  It  is  hard  that  a 
couple  of  rascals  should  take  away  the 
King's  subjects'  lives.  They  are  a  couple 
of  rogues  and  rascals." 

Again,  when  one  of  them  conveniently 
feigned  ignorance,  and  an  answer  by  the 
other  had  been  suggested  to  him  by  one  of 
the  counsel  for  the  prosecution: 

Kidd.  "  It  is  a  fine  trade  that  you  must 
take  away  so  many  of  the  King's  subjects' 
lives,  and  know  nothing  at  all  of  the 
matter." 

88 


KIDD'S    RETURN    HOME 

Again,  speaking  this  time  to  the  judge: 

"  It  is  a  fine  trade  indeed  that  he  must  be 
instructed  what  to  say.  He  knows  no  more 
of  these  things  than  you  do.  The  fellow 
used  to  sleep  five  or  six  months  together  in 
the  hold." 

Once  more: 

"  He  tells  a  thousand  lies.  The  man  con- 
tradicts himself  a  hundred  times." 

KiDD  (speaking  this  time  to  Palmer). 
"  I  would  not  go  with  such  a  roguish  crew 
as  you  were.  Was  I  not  threatened  to  be 
shot  in  my  cabin  by  such  villains  as  you,  if 
I  would  not  go  along  with  you?  This  was 
the  reason  I  could  not  come  home.  Did  you 
not  with  the  others  set  fire  to  the  boat  to 
destroy  my  ship?  My  lord,  they  took  what 
they  pleased  out  of  the  ship,  and  I  was 
forced  to  stay  by  myself,  and  pick  up  here 
a  man  and  there  a  man  to  carry  her  home." 

That  Kidd  had  no  option  but  to  stay  on 
at  Madagascar  after  Culliford  had  left  is 
obvious.      The    faithful    thirteen    who    re- 

89 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

mained  behind  with  him  were  clearly  an  in- 
sufficient ship's  company  to  bring  the  Que- 
dagh  Merchant  with  her  freight  safely  to 
America.    When  he  left  her  off  the  coast  of 
Hispaniola,  nearly  a  year  afterwards,  de- 
nuded of  the  specie  and  goods  which  he  had 
taken  from  her  to  Boston,  she  carried  be- 
sides her  thirty  mounted  guns,  taken  from 
the  Adventure  Galley,  twenty  more  guns  of 
her  own,  stowed  away  in  her  hold,  some  two 
hundred  bales  of  calicoes,  silks,  and  mushns, 
between  eighty  and  ninety  tons  of  refined 
sugar,  forty  tons  of  saltpetre,  and  ten  tons 
of  iron  "  in  short  junks."    No  reason,  other 
than  stern  necessity,  can  have  induced  him 
to  prolong  his  stay  at  Madagascar.    He  and 
his  men  must  have  wished  to  get  home  as 
soon  as  might  be.     Had  they  been  able  to 
start  at  once,  they  might  have  been  in  time 
to  put  an  end  to  the  suspicions  of  their  hon- 
esty, which  were  already  accumulating  in 
r^England  owing  to  the  protracted  absence  of 
news  as  to  their  movements,  and  the  com- 

90 


KIDD'S    RETURN   HOME 

plaint  of  the  East  India  Company  of  the 
seizure  of  the  Quedagh  Merchant. 

Unfortunately  Madagascar  was  one  of 
the  last  places  in  the  world  in  which  Kidd 
was  likely  to  find  the  men  required  to  bring 
his  ship  home.  The  majority  of  such  Eng- 
lish-speaking men  as  were  there  were  by 
no  means  desirous  of  bringing  themselves 
within  the  grasp  of  the  law.  In  the  course 
of  the  next  five  months,  to  quote  his  own 
words,  "  he  picked  up  here  a  man  and  there 
a  man,"  and  "  some  passengers  presented 
that  were  bound  for  these  parts,"  i.  e., 
America.  At  last,  still  under-manned,  he 
started  on  his  homeward  voyage,  and 
reached  Anguilla  in  the  West  Indies  in 
April,  1699.  By  this  time  he  had  been  con- 
demned unheard  by  the  home  authorities; 
and  the  hue  and  cry  had  been  raised  against 
him  and  such  of  his  crew  as  had  remained 
faithful.  The  lords  justices  had  sent  in- 
structions to  the  governors  of  all  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  in  America  "  to  apprehend  him 

91 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

and  his  accomplices,  whenever  he  or  they 
should  arrive  in  any  of  the  said  plantations," 
and  "  to  secure  his  ship  and  all  the  effects 
therein,  it  being  their  Excellencies'  inten- 
tion that  right  be  done  to  those  who  have 
been  injured  and  robbed  by  the  said  Kidd, 
and  that  he  and  his  associates  be  prosecuted 
with  the  utmost  rigour  of  the  law."  Conse- 
quently when,  in  all  innocence,  he  sent  his 
boat  on  shore,  to  quote  again  from  his  own 
artless  narrative,  "  his  men  had  the  news 
that  he  and  his  people  were  proclaimed 
pirates,  which  put  them  into  such  consterna- 
tion that  they  sought  all  opportunities  to 
run  the  ship  ashore  upon  some  reef  or  shoal, 
fearing  the  Narrator  should  carry  them  into 
some  English  port." 

"  From  Anguilla,"  he  tells  us,  "  they  came 
to  St.  Thomas,  where  his  brother-in-law, 
Samuel  Bradley,  was  put  on  shore  being 
sick,  and  five  more  "  (out  of  his  small  crew) 
"  went  away  and  deserted  him.  There  he 
heard  the  same  news,  that  he  and  his  com- 

92 


KIDP'S    RETURN    HOME 

pany   were   proclaimed   pirates,   which   in- 
censed the  people  more  and  more." 

"  From  St.  Thomas  he  set  sail  for  Moona, 
an  island  between  Hispaniola  and  Porto 
Rico,  where  they  met  with  a  sloop,  called  the 
St.  Anthony,  bound  for  Antigua  from 
Curaso.  The  men  on  board  then  swore  that 
they  would  bring  the  ship  no  further."  By 
this  time  some  commanders  would  have  hesi- 
tated. Not  so  Kidd.  He  held  to  his  purpose 
to  remain  true  to  his  employers  whatever  the 
cost  to  himself  might  be.  He  tells  us,  and 
his  evidence  is  not  contradicted,  that  he 
"  then  sent  the  said  sloop,  St.  Anthony,  to 
Curaso  for  canvas  to  make  (sails  for  the 
prize,  she  not  being  able  to  proceed,  and  she 
returned  in  ten  days,  and  after  the  canvas 
came  he  could  not  persuade  the  men  to  carry 
her  to  New  England.  But  six  of  them  went 
and  carried  their  chests  and  things  on  board 
of  the  Dutch  sloop,  bound  for  Curaso,  and 
would  not  so  much  as  heel  the  vessel,  or  do 
anything."    The  remainder  of  the  men  not 

93 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

being  able  to  bring  the  Adventure  Prize  to 
Boston  "  he  secured  her  in  a  good  safe  har- 
bour in  Hispaniola  and  left  her  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Henry  Boulton  of  Antigua, 
Merchant,  with  three  of  the  old  men  and 
fifteen  or  sixteen  of  the  men  that  belonged 
to  the  said  sloop  St.  Anthony  and  a  brigan- 
tine  belonging  to  Mr.  Burt  of  Curaso."  He 
then  "bought  the  said  sloop,  St.  Anthony,  of 
Mr.  Boulton  for  the  owners'  account:  and 
after  he  had  given  directions  to  the  said 
Boulton  to  be  careful  of  the  ship  and  lading, 
and  persuaded  him  to  sta}^  three  months 
imtil  he  returned,  he  made  the  best  of  his 
way  to  New  York." 

Bellamont  was  not  at  New  York,  but  at 
Boston.  An  old  friend  of  Kidd's,  Emmot 
by  name,  came  on  board  the  sloop  from  New 
York,  and  to  him  Kidd  told  his  simple  tale, 
handed  over  to  him  the  two  invaluable 
French  passes  to  take  to  Bellamont,  as  evi- 
dence that  the  two  prizes,  in  respect  of  which 
he  had  been  charged  with  piracy,  had  been 

94 


KIDD'S    RETURN    HOME 

lawfully  taken  under  his  letters  of  marque. 
On  the  thirteenth  of  June,  Emmot  came  to 
Bellamont  at  Boston  with  these  passes,  and 
two  days  afterwards  Bellamont  sent  Mr. 
Duncan  Campbell,  the  Postmaster  of  Bos- 
ton, to  invite  Kidd  to  come  into  the  port  of 
Boston.  On  the  nineteenth  Campbell  re- 
turned, and  gave  in  a  memorial,^  still  extant, 
of  all  that  had  passed  between  him  and 
Kidd. 

This  memorial  is  of  interest,  as  showing 
the  effect  produced  on  Bellamont's  emissary 
by  his  first  interview  with  Kidd.  Had  he 
been  prejudiced  in  Kidd's  favor,  it  is  un- 
likely that  he  would  have  been  selected  by 
Bellamont  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
whether  Kidd  was  guilty  of  piracy  or  not. 
On  the  same  day  he  was  sent  back  by  Bella- 
mont to  Kidd,  with  the  following  letter: 

Boston,  19  June,  1699. 

"  Captain  Kidd,  —  Mr.  Emmot  came  to 
me  last  Tuesday  night  telling  me  he  came 

*  A  copy  of  this  memorial  will  be  found  in  Appendix  D. 

05 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

from  you:  but  was  shy  of  telling  where  he 
parted  with  you.  Nor  did  I  press  him  to  it. 
He  told  me  you  came  by  Oyster  Bay  in 
Nassau  Island  and  sent  for  him  to  New 
York.  He  proposed  to  me  that  I  would 
grant  you  a  pardon.  I  answered  that  I  had 
never  granted  one  yet,  and  that  I  had  set 
myself  a  rule  never  to  grant  a  pardon  to 
anybody  without  the  King's  express  leave 
or  command.  He  told  me  you  declared  and 
protested  your  innocence  and  that  if  your 
men  could  be  persuaded  to  follow  your  ex- 
ample, you  would  make  no  manner  of  scru- 
ple of  coming  into  this  port,  or  any  other 
within  His  Majesty's  Dominions.  That 
you  owned  there  were  two  ships  taken,  but 
that  your  men  did  it  violently  and  against 
your  will,  and  had  used  you  barbarously,  in 
imprisoning  you  and  treating  you  ill  the 
most  part  of  your  voyage,  and  often  at- 
tempting to  murder  you.  Mr.  Emmot  de- 
livered to  me  the  two  French  passes  taken 
on  board  the  two  ships  your  men  rifled,^ 
which  passes  I  have  in  my  custody,  and  I 
am  apt  to  believe  they  will  be  a  good  article 
to  justify  you,  if  the  late  peace  were  not  by 

*  At  St.  Marie's. 
9G 


KIDD'S    RETURN    HOME 

the  Treaty  between  England  and  France  to 
operate  in  that  part  of  the  world  at  the  time 
the  hostility  was  committed,  as  I  am  almost 
confident  it  was  not  to  do.  Mr.  Enrniot  told 
me  that  you  showed  a  great  sense  of  honour 
and  justice  in  professing  with  many  assev- 
erations your  settled  and  serious  design  all 
along  to  do  honour  to  your  Commission  and 
never  to  do  the  least  thing  contrary  to  your 
duty  and  allegiance  to  the  King.  And  this 
I  have  to  say  in  your  defence,  that  several 
persons  in  New  York,  who  I  can  bring  to 
evidence  it,  did  tell  me  that  by  several  ad- 
vices from  Madagascar  and  that  part  of  the 
world,  they  were  informed  of  your  men's 
revolting  from  you  in  one  place,  and  I  am 
pretty  sure  they  said  was  Madagascar,  and 
that  others  compelled  you  much  against 
your  will  to  take  and  rifle  two  ships. 

"  I  have  advised  with  His  Majesty's 
Council,  and  shewed  them  this  letter,  and 
they  are  of  opinion  that  if  you  can  be  so  clear 
as  you  (or  Mr.  Emmot  for  you)  have  said, 
that  you  may  safely  come  hither,  and  he 
equipped  and  fitted  out  to  go  and  fetch  the 
other  ship,  and  I  make  no  manner  of  douBT 
hut  to  ohtain  the  King's  pardon  for  you,  and 

97 


THE   REAL   CAPTAIN   KIDD 

for  those  few  men  you  have  left  who  I  un- 
derstand have  been  faithful  to  you,  and 
refused  as  well  as  you  to  dishonour  the 
Commission  you  have  from  England. 

**  I  assure  you  on  my  Word  and  Honour  I 
will  perform  nicely  what  I  have  promised, 
though  this  I  declare  beforehand  that  what- 
ever goods  and  treasure  you  may  bring 
hither,  I  will  not  meddle  with  the  least  bit  of 
them:  but  they  shall  be  left  with  such  per- 
sons as  the  Council  shall  advise  until  I  re- 
ceive orders  from  England  how  they  shall 
be  disposed  of." 

Kidd's  reply  to  this  letter  was  as  follows : 

"  To  the  Eael  of  Bellamont. 

"  From  Block  Island  on  Board  the  Sloop  Anthony 

"  24  June,  1699. 

"  ]\Iay  it  please  your  Excellency, 

"  I  am  honoured  with  your  Lordship's  let- 
ter of  the  19th  instant  by  Mr.  Campbell, 
which  came  to  my  hands  this  day.  For 
which  I  return  my  most  hearty  thanks.  I 
cannot  but  blame  myself  for  not  writing  to 
your  Lordship  before  this  time,  knowing  it 
was  my  duty:   but  the  clamours  and  false 

98 


KIDD'S   RETURN    HOME 

stories  that  have  been  reported  of  me,  made 
me  fearful  of  visiting  or  coming  into  any 
harbom',  till  I  could  hear  from  your  Lord- 
ship. 

"  I  note  the  contents  of  your  Lordship's 
letter,  as  to  what  Mr.  Emmot  and  Mr. 
Campbell  informed  your  Lordship  of  my 
proceedings  I  do  affirm  to  be  true,  and  a 
great  deal  more  might  be  said  of  the  abuses 
of  my  men,  and  the  hardships  I  have  under- 
gone to  preserve  the  ship  and  what  goods  my 
men  had  left.  Ninety-five  men  went  away 
from  me  in  one  day  and  went  on  board  the 
Moca  Frigate,  Captain  Robert  CuUiford, 
Commander,  who  went  away  to  the  Red 
Sea;  and  committed  several  acts  of  piracy, 
as  I  am  informed;  and  am  afraid  (the  men 
formerly  belonging  to  my  Galley)  that  the 
report  is  gone  home  against  me  to  the  East 
India  Company,  that  I  have  been  the  actor. 
A  sheet  of  paper  will  not  contain  what  may 
be  said  of  the  care  I  took  to  preserve  the 
owners'  interest,  and  to  come  home  to  clear 
my  own  innocency.  I  do  further  declare 
and  protest  that  I  never  did  in  the  least  act 
contrary  to  the  King's  Commission,  nor  to 
the  reputation   of  my  honourable  owners, 

99 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

and  doubt  not  but  that  I  shall  be  able  to  make 
my  innocence  appear ;  or  else  I  had  no  need 
to  come  to  these  parts  of  the  world;  if  it 
were  not  for  that  and  my  owners'  interest. 
There  are  Five  or  Six  Passengers  that  came 
from  Madagascar  to  assist  me  in  bringing 
the  ship  home,  and  about  ten  of  my  own 
men,  that  came  with  me  would  not  venture 
to  go  into  Boston,  till  Mr.  Campbell  had  en- 
gaged Body  for  Body  for  them  that  they 
should  not  be  molested  while  I  stayed  at 
Boston,  or  till  I  return  with  the  ship.  I 
doubt  not  but  your  Lordship  will  write  to 
England  in  my  favour  and  for  these  few 
men  who  are  left. 

"  I  wish  your  Lordship  would  persuade  Mr. 
Campbell  to  go  home  to  England  with  your 
Lordship's  letters,  who  will  be  able  to  give 
account  of  our  affairs  and  diligently  follow 
the  same  that  there  may  be  a  speedy  answer 
from  England.  I  desired  Mr.  Campbell  to 
buy  1000  weight  of  Rigging  for  fitting  of 
the  ship  to  bring  her  to  Boston,  that  I  may 
not  be  delayed  when  I  come  there. 

"  Upon  receiving  of  your  Lordship's  let- 
ter, I  am  making  the  best  of  my  way  to  Bos- 
ton.   This  with  my  humble  duty  to  your 

100 


KIDD'S   RETURN   HOME 

Lordship  and  Countess,  is  what  offers  from, 
my  Lord,  your  Excellency's  most  humble 
and  dutiful  servant, 

"William  Kidd/' 

On  the  first  of  July  he  brought  the  sloop 
and  the  remnant  of  his  crew  into  the  port  of 
Boston,  conscious  of  his  integrity  and  rely- 
ing on  the  word  and  honour  of  Bellamont. 
It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  any  man  in 
equally  trying  circumstances  has  ever  been 
truer  to  his  trust. 


101 


CHAPTER    FOUR 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  GENESIS  AND  GROWTH  OF  THE  AECH 
PIRATE   MYTH 

KIDD'S  expedition  having  originated  in 
the  desire  of  the  government  to  pla- 
cate the  East  India  Company,  it  is  only 
reasonable  to  surmise  that  the  Company  re- 
ceived some  early  official  intimation  of  what 
was  being  done  on  their  behalf.  To  what 
extent  they  were  informed  officially  of  the 
details  of  the  government  scheme  is  of  com- 
paratively small  importance.  The  great 
wealth  at  their  disposal  and  the  prodigahty 
with  which  they  expended  their  secret  ser- 
vice money  in  those  days,  leave  no  room  for 
doubt  that  at  a  very  early  stage  of  the  pro- 
ceedings they  made  themselves  acquainted 
with  the  essential  facts.  Their  factories 
were  exposed  to  imminent  danger  from  the 
irritation  of  the  Great  Mogul  at  the  contin- 

105 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

uous  robbery  of  his  subjects'  goods  by  Eng- 
lish-speaking seamen  on  his  coasts.  The 
Company  must  have  taken  the  keenest  in- 
terest in  the  measures  designed  for  the 
repression  of  this  piracy.  With  their  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  the  difficulties  to  be  en- 
countered, it  is  unlikely  that  they  at  any  time 
regarded  the  adventurers'  project  as  a  very 
promising  one.  When  they  heard  of  the 
failure  of  the  Admiralty  to  protect  Kidd's 
carefully  selected  crew  from  the  press  gang, 
and  realised  that  the  bulk  of  the  ship's  com- 
pany would  have  to  be  got  from  New  York, 
it  is  impossible  that  they  can  have  enter- 
tained any  illusions  as  to  the  probability  of 
its  success. 

Kidd's  crew  was  pressed  at  the  Nore  on 
the  first  of  March,  1696.  By  one  of  the 
curious  close  coincidences  of  date  which 
speak  for  themselves  in  this  case  more  con- 
vincingly than  any  words  can  do,  the  Com- 
pany on  the  following  day  addressed  a  peti- 
tion to  the  Admiralty,  praying  to  be  allowed 

106 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

to  take  the  business  of  dealing  with  the 
pirates  into  their  own  hands.  In  this  peti- 
tion they  urged  that  *'  Your  Lordships  will 
please  to  empower  the  petitioners'  ships  and 
officers  to  seize  and  take  all  pirates  infesting 
those  seas  within  the  hmits  of  the  Com- 
pany's charter  and  likewise  empower  them  to 
erect  a  Court  of  Admiralty  in  those  parts." 
This  proposal  except  for  a  very  excusable 
technical  error  contained  in  it,  which  if  not 
corrected,  would  have  enabled  the  Company, 
instead  of  the  Admiralty,  to  create  a  Court 
of  Admiralty,  was  not  unreasonable.  It 
was  referred  by  the  Admiralty  to  their 
judge.  Sir  Charles  Hedges,  who  promptly 
reported  in  the  following  terms  on  the  steps 
necessary  to  carry  it  into  effect:  "  That  the 
more  regular  way  will  be  for  your  Lord- 
ships to  take  a  Commission  under  the  Great 
Seal  of  England  giving  power  to  the  Lord 
Admiral  or  Commissioners  for  executing 
the  office  of  High  Admiral  to  grant  com- 
missions to  any  of  the  Captains  of  the  East 

107 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

India  Company's  ships  for  the  taking  of  the 
ships  of  pirates,  wherein  it  shall  be  ex- 
pressed what  parts  or  shares  the  King  shall 
see  fit  to  reserve  to  himself  or  bestow  upon 
the  Captors  and  Company." 

"  That  your  Lordships  may  be  pleased  to 
erect  a  Vice- Admiralty  at  Bombay  or  any 
other  place  that  shall  be  thought  expedient 
in  the  same  manner  as  is  done  in  the  West 
Indies,  which  being  established  by  a  com- 
mission in  the  ordinary  form,  that  will  be 
sufficient  to  empower  such  Vice- Admiralty 
there,  to  proceed  against  ships  as  fully  as 
anj^  Vice- Admiralty  in  England  or  the 
High  Court  of  Admiralty  can  do." 

Why  no  action  was  taken  on  this  proposal 
of  the  Companj^  as  modified  by  Sir  Charles 
Hedges,  is  not  clear.  Possibly  the  Admi- 
ralty hesitated  to  hand  over  to  the  captains 
of  the  Company's  ships  work  which  they 
thought  more  properly  belonged  to  the 
King's  navy,  and  which  when  the  French 
war  was  ended  was  very  soon  performed 

108 


GROWTH   OF   x>Txv.i.iE   MYTH 

by  Captain  Warren's  squadron.  Possibly 
they  felt  a  delicacy  in  doing  anything  that 
might  diminish  the  great  ministers'  chances 
of  gain  from  Kidd's  adventure.  What 
seems  to  have  happened  is  that  the  Com- 
pany's petition  was  officially  shelved  for 
nearly  four  years,  when  Captain  Warren 
having  in  the  meanwhile  been  sent  out  with 
five  men-of-war  to  suppress  the  pirates,  it 
was  referred  to  the  committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  who  had  then  been  appointed 
to  consider  further  the  large  question  of  the 
state  and  condition  of  the  trade  of  England, 
by  whom,  if  considered  at  all,  it  would  have 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  many  implacable  ene- 
mies of  the  Company,  and  in  particular  of 
certain  ardent  protectionists  of  that  day 
who  never  missed  an  opportunity  of  hold- 
ing forth  on  the  injuries  to  which  English 
industries  were  exposed  by  the  importation 
by  the  Company  of  Indian  silks,  calicoes,  and 
muslins. 

Apart,  however,   from   any   question  of 

109 


THE    REAL    Ci^PTAIN    KIDD 

the  probable  success  of  Kidd's  expedition, 
or  the  desirabihty  of  giving  the  Company  a 
free  hand  to  deal  themselves  with  the  pirates, 
the  terms  of  the  grant  of  the  spoil  to  the 
adventurers,  with  which  the  Company  had 
evidently  made  themselves  famihar,  were  cal- 
culated to  place  them  in  a  very  awkward 
position  with  the  Great  Mogul.    What  they 
had  to  protect  themselves  against,  was  a 
summary    expulsion    from    his    dominions; 
and  they  must  have  realized  that^even  if_ 
Kidd  succeedeThi  catching_hd^)irates,  it 
"would  be  a  very  unsatisfactory  reply  to  the 
demands  of  that  great  potentate  for  the  im- 
mediate restitution  of  the  stolen  properties, 
to   assure  him  that   the   thieves   had  been 
carried  to   England,   where   it  was  to   be 
hoped  that  some  of  them  might  in  due  course 
be  convicted,  and  possibly  hung;    but  that 
the  stolen  goods  had  in  the  meanwhile  been 
appropriated  by  some  of  the  King's  great 
ministers.     It  was  not  impossible  that  the 
next  demand  of  the  Great  Mogul  might  be 

110 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

that  these  great  gentlemen  together  with 
such  of  the  directors  of  the  Company  as  had 
acquiesced  in  this  arrangement  should  at 
once  be  handed  over  to  him  to  be  dealt  with 
according  to  their  deserts.  It  is  not,  there- 
fore, surprising  to  find  that  on  the  twentieth 
of  August  in  that  year,  whilst  Kidd  was  still 
at  New  York  trying  to  pick  up  his  crew,  the 
Company  presented  a  further  petition  to  the 
Lords  Justices,  praying  that  "  such  of  the 
species  of  gold,  silver  and  jewels  as  have  al- 
ready been  or  shall  hereafter  be  seized  in 
the  custody  of  any  of  the  pirates  or  any 
other  persons  who  cannot  make  a  legal  title 
thereunto,  may  not  be  disposed  of,  but  put 
into  the  possession  of  the  Company,  in  order 
to  be  preserved  for  the  use  of  the  proprie- 
tors in  India,  that  the  Government  may  see 
that  His  Majesty  as  well  as  the  Company 
have  done  their  utmost  endeavours  to  seize 
the  said  pirates  and  to  make  restitution  to 
the  persons  injured  so  far  as  it  is  in  their 
power." 

Ill 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

/  In  taking  this  course  the  Company  must  . 
have  reaHzed  that  it  would  be  very  distaste- / 
ful  to  the  King  and  his  four  great  ministers^ 
who  were  proposing  themselves  to  appro- 
i  priate  the  bulk  of  the  spoil.  But  they  also 
knew  that  these  great  men  had  placed  them- 
selves hopelessly  in  the  wrong;  and  that 
there  were  plenty  of  their  enemies  in  the 
House  of  Commons  who  would  be  only  too 
eager  to  expose  the  scandal,  when  the  time 
came  for  them  to  do  so.  This  consideration 
seems  to  have  had  some  weight  with  the 
Lords  Justices,  and  prevented  them  from 
shelving  this  petition  as  unceremoniously  as 
the  Admiralty  had  done  the  former  one. 
Anxious  to  aj^pease  the  Company,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  safeguard  the  rights  of  the 
adventurers,  they  decided  at  a  meeting  at 
which  the  Duke  of  Shrewsbury,  one  of  the 
adventurers,  was  present,  to  send  a  peremp- 
tory but  guarded  dispatch  to  the  governors 
of  all  the  American  plantations,  requiring 
them  "  to  take  all  possible  care,  and  use  all 

112 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

due  means  for  the  seizing  and  apprehending 
all  such  pirates  and  sea  robbers  and  such  as 
may  be  reasonably  suspected  for  the  same, 
either  by  reason  of  the  great  quantities  of 
gold  and  silver  of  foreign  coins  they  usually 
have  with  them,  or  by  other  probable  cir- 
cumstances; and  to  cause  them  to  be 
straightly  imprisoned,  and  their  ships, 
goods,  and  plunder  to  be  kept  in  safe  cus- 
tody; until  upon  returning  to  us  a  full 
account  of  the  said  persons,  ships,  goods 
and  plunder,  with  the  evidence  relating  to 
them,  His  Majesty's  pleasure  shall  be  known 
and  signified  concerning  them."  Amongst 
the  signatories  to  this  despatch  the  name  of 
the  Earl  of  Romney,  another  of  the  adven- 
turers, appears. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  this  dis- 
patch produced  little  if  any  practical  result. 
During  the  next  two  years  the  Company  con- 
tinued to  receive  repeated  reports  of  the 
depredations  of  the  pirates,  and  the  excite- 
ment created  thereby  amongst  the  natives 

113 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

of  India,  who  had  in  some  cases  seized  the 
Company's  factories  and  put  the  factors  in 
irons.  Meanwhile  the  absence  of  any  news 
from  Kidd  had  not  unnaturally  aroused  the 
suspicions  of  the  Company.  Culliford,  the 
captain  of  one  of  their  own  East  Indiamen, 
the  Moca  Frigate,  had  run  away  with  their 
ship  from  Madras  and  joined  the  pirates; 
and  it  may  have  seemed  to  them  by  no  means 
improbable  that  Kidd  with  his  American 
crew  had  done  the  like.  At  length  they  re- 
ceived some  vague  intimation,  confirming 
their  suspicions;  and  in  August,  1698,  they 
informed  the  Lords  Justices  "  that  they  had 
received  some  information  from  their  fac- 
tories in  the  East  Indies  that  Kidd  had  com- 
mitted several  acts  of  piracy,  particularly  in 
seizing  a  Moors'  ship  called  the  Quedagh 
Merchant.''  As  they  produced  no  evidence 
from  their  informants  at  Kidd's  trial  in  sup- 
port of  these  allegations,  although  they  had 
ample  time  and  opportunity  for  obtaining  it 
during  his  two  years'  imprisonment,  it  is  not 

114 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

unfair  to  assume  that  the  information  which 
they  received  on  this  occasion  was  not  such 
as  they  cared  to  submit  to  an  English  Court 
of  Law.  But  such  as  it  was,  the  Lords 
Justices  did  not  hesitate  to  act  at  once  upon 
it,  and  to  assume  without  further  inquiry 
not  only  that  Kidd  was  guilty,  but  that  he 
was  already  a  notorious  pirate.  On  the 
twenty-third  of  November,  1698,  whilst 
Kidd  was  stranded  at  Madagascar,  they 
sent  the  following  circular  to  Rear  Admiral 
Benbow,  and  the  governor  of  every  Ameri- 
can Colony:  "  The  Lords  Justices  having 
been  informed  by  several  advices  from  the 
East  Indies  of  the  notorious  piracies  com- 
mitted by  Captain  Kidd,  and  of  his  having 
seized  and  plundered  divers  ships  in  those 
seas,  as  their  Excellencies  have  given  orders 
to  the  commander  of  the  squadron  fitted  out 
for  the  East  Indies  that  he  use  his  utmost 
endeavours  to  pursue  and  seize  the  said  Kidd, 
if  he  continue  still  in  those  parts,  so  likewise 
they  have  commanded  me  to  signify  their 

115 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

directions  to  the  respective  governors  of  the 
Colonies  under  His  Majesty's  obedience  in 
America,  that  they  give  strict  orders  and 
take  particular  care  for  apprehending  the 
said  Kidd  and  his  accomplices,  whenever  he 
or  they  shall  arrive  in  any  of  the  said  plan- 
tations, as  hkewise  that  they  shall  secure  his 
ship  and  all  the  effects  therein,  it  being 
Their  Excellencies'  intention  that  right  be 
done  to  those  who  have  been  injured  and 
robbed  by  the  said  Kidd,  and  that  he  and  his 
associates  be  prosecuted  with  the  utmost 
rigour  of  the  law.  You  are  to  be  careful, 
therefore,  to  observe  the  said  directions,  and 
if  the  said  Kidd  or  any  of  his  accomphces 
be  seized  within  the  provinces  under  your 
government,  you  are  forthwith  to  transmit 
an  accoimt  thereof  hitherto,  and  take  care 
that  the  said  persons,  ships  and  effects  be 
secured,  till  His  Majesty's  pleasure  is  known 
concerning  them." 

It  would  appear  from  the  wording  of  this 
extraordinary  and  unjustifiable  circular  that 

116 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

the  great  men,  who  had  sent  Kidd  out,  had 
by  this  time  abandoned  hope  of  getting  any 
gain  out  of  their  adventure,  and  that  their 
main  desire  now  was  to  clear  themselves  of 
the  suspicion  that  they  were  conniving  at 
the  alleged  piracies  of  the  distinguished  offi- 
cer, whom  they  had  induced  against  his  own 
misgivings  to  enter  their  service,  and  who 
now  was  steadfastly  doing  his  best  for  them 
in  the  face  of  grievous  difficulties  at  the 
other  end  of  the  world.  It  may  well  be  that 
at  this  time  they  believed  him  to  be  guilty. 
It  may  even  be  that  they  continued  in  this 
behef  when  report  after  report  came  to  hand 
of  the  piracies  of  other  English  seamen  in 
the  East,  notwithstanding  the  marked  ab- 
sence in  those  reports  of  any  mention  what- 
ever of  Kidd  or  of  the  Adventure  Galley. 
Whether  they  continued  to  beHeve  in  his 
guilt  after  his  own  narrative  had  been  made 
a  Parhamentary  paper,  and  he  had  been 
examined  before  the  House  of  Commons  on 
it,  is  a  very  different  question.    Neither  they 

117 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

nor  the  Company  were  represented  at  the 
trial,  nor  was  any  evidence  then  tendered  on 
their  behalf.  It  was  their  interest  to  make 
Kidd  their  scapegoat;  and  the  interest  of 
the  Company  that  some  one,  guilty  or  not, 
the  higher  in  rank  the  better,  should  be  pub- 
licly hung  in  infamy,  as  a  warning  to. mari- 
ners engaged  in  the  Eastern  piracy.  It  wa^ 
nobody's  interest  in  England  that  Kidd 
should  be  acquitted,  unless  as  a  condition  for 
such  acquittal  he  could  be  induced  to  make 
compromising  revelations  against  his  em- 
ployers. And  this,  as  will  be  seen,  he  reso- 
lutely refused  to  do  in  the  face  of  strong 
temptation. 

To  return  now  to  his  relations  with  Bella- 
mont,  w^ho  though  appointed  Governor  of 
New  England  as  far  back  as  June,  1695, 
had  not  apparently  started  for  America 
until  more  than  two  years  afterwards;  and 
had  profitably  employed  the  intei*val  in  ob- 
taining further  favours  from  the  government. 
Not  contented  with  the  pension  of  five  hun- 

118 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

dred  pounds  per  annum  which  had  appar- 
ently been  given  him  on  his  dismissal  by  the 
late  Queen,  in  1693,  from  his  post  as  her  Re- 
ceiver General,  he  seems  to  have  succeeded 
in  May,  1696,  in  obtaining  a  further  grant 
of  one  thousand  pounds  a  year  out  of  the 
forfeited  estates  of  Lord  Kilmeare,  and  in 
March,  1697,  to  have  been  made  colonel  of 
a  regiment  of  foot.  In  the  following  June 
it  was  announced  that  he  would  at  last  start 
to  his  government  in  the  Deptford  frigate, 
but  he  delayed  his  departure  until  October, 
by  which  time  he  had  succeeded  in  extract- 
ing from  the  Treasury  a  further  sop  in  the 
shape  of  "  twelve  thousand  pounds,  paid 
him  in  mault  lottery  tickets."  ^ 

On  the  first  of  July,  1699,  Kidd,  as  al- 
ready mentioned,  landed  at  Boston,  relying 
on  Bellamont's  word  and  honor,  and  assur- 
ance that  he  believed  that  the  two  French 
passes,  which  had  been  handed  to  him  by 
Emmot,  would  justify  the  seizure  of  the  two 

^  See  Appendix  E. 
119 


thp:  real  captaix  kidd 

prizes  taken,  and  that  he  made  no  manner 
of  doubt  that  he  could  obtain  the  King's 
pardon  for  Kidd  and  for  the  few  men  left 
who  had  continued  faithful.  It  is  easy  to 
understand  the  relief  the  old  man  must  have 
felt  in  setting  foot  in  a  civilized  country  once 
more  after  all  his  troubles,  with  the  know- 
ledge that  he  had  served  his  employers  so 
w^ell,  and  the  expectation  that  he  would  now 
receive  recognition  and  reward  for  all  he 
had  gone  through  on  their  behalf.  Towards 
the  end  of  his  voyage  his  wife  and  family 
from  New  York  had  come  on  board,  having 
been  informed  of  his  whereabouts  by  his  old 
friend  Emmot;  and  all  of  them  were  prob- 
ably looking  forward  to  a  warm  reception  on 
their  landing.  If  so,  they  were  soon  disillu- 
sionized. The  Governor  declined  to  see  Kidd 
except  in  the  most  formal  manner  and  in  the 
presence  of  witnesses.  The  truth  was  that 
he  had  placed  himself  in  a  very  awkward 
position  with  the  home  authorities  by  in- 
ducing the  King's  ministers  to  embark  in 

120 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

this  unlucky  adventure,  and  that  he  and  they 
had  long  since  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  safest  course  to  take  to  exonerate  them- 
selves from  the  consequences  was  to  make 
a  scapegoat  of  Kidd.  Bellamont  had  been 
playing  a  very  double  game,  not  only  with 
Kidd,  but  also  with  his  own  council.  His 
own  admissions  in  his  letters  written  to  the 
authorities  in  England  before  the  end  of 
that  month,  leave  no  doubt  on  this  point. 
His  consignment  of  Kidd  to  gaol  was  a  fore- 
gone conclusion;  and  the  only  difficulty  he 
had  to  get  over,  and  it  was  an  insuperable 
one,  was  how  to  do  this  with  some  appear- 
ance of  decency.  At  the  time  when  with 
specious  promises  he  was  persuading  his 
victim  to  come  to  Boston,  he  was  well  aware 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  arrest  him  immedi- 
ately on  his  landing  there,  in  pursuance  of 
specific  instructions  from  England,  which  he 
had  carefully  concealed  from  his  council. 
The  letter  to  Kidd  with  all  its  assumed  be- 
lief in  Kidd's  innocence,  and  his  own  solemn 

121 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

assurances  on  his  word  and  honour  that  he 
could  obtain  the  King's  pardon  for  him  and 
his  men,  was  a  trap  laid  for  Kidd  without 
the  knowledge  of  his  council,  to  whom  he 
had  submitted  the  letter  for  approval.  His 
intention  throughout  had  been  to  get  hold 
of  Kidd  and  send  him  to  England,  to  be 
dealt  ^vith  there  in  such  manner  as  might  be 
most  convenient  to  the  government.  In  his 
letters  he  has  not  only  confessed  this,  but  has 
even  found  it  necessary  to  excuse  himself  to 
his  superiors  and  give  the  reasons  which  he 
considered  justified  him  in  not-  arresting 
Kidd  the  moment  he  landed.  '*  It  will  not 
be  unwelcome  news  to  your  Lordships,"  he 
writes,  "  that  I  secured  Captain  Kidd  last 
Thursday  in  the  gaol  of  this  town.  I 
thought  myself  secure  against  his  running 
away,  because  I  took  care  not  to  give  him 
the  slightest  umbrage  of  my  design  of  seiz- 
ing him.  Nor  had  I,  until  the  day  I  pro- 
duced my  orders  from  the  Court  to  arrest 
Kidd,  communicated  them  to  anybody.    But 

122 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

I  found  it  necessary  to  produce  my  orders 
to  my  Council  to  animate  them  to  join  heart- 
ily in  securing  Kidd.  Another  reason  why  I 
took  him  not  up  sooner,  was  that  he  had 
brought  his  wife  and  family  hither  on  the 
sloop  with  him  who  (sic)  I  beheved  "  (poor 
wretch!)"  he  would  not  readily  forsake." 
At  the  same  time  whilst  thus  excusing  him- 
self for  not  arresting  Kidd  more  promptly, 
Bellamont  seems  to  have  felt  that  some  ex- 
planation was  called  for  to  justify  his  arrest- 
ing him  at  all.  "  Your  Lordships  may  ob- 
serve," he  writes,  and  it  requires  a  very 
microscopical  scrutiny  of  his  hypocritical 
letter  to  observe  it,  "  that  the  promise  made 
Kidd  in  my  letter  of  a  kind  reception,  and 
promising  the  King's  pardon  for  him,  was 
conditional,  that  is,  provided  that  he  was  as 
innocent  as  he  pretended  to  be.  But  I 
quickly  found  sufficient  cause  to  suspect 
him  to  be  very  guilty  by  the  many  lies  and 
contradictions  he  told  me."  What  these  lies 
and  contradictions  were,  he  is  very  careful 

123 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

not  to  say.  Kidd's  own  narrative,  corrob- 
orated by  the  depositions  of  several  of  his 
crew,  are  perfectly  intelligible  and  straight- 
forward documents,  far  more  intelligible 
and  convincing  than  Bellamont's  lame  rea- 
sons for  thinking  him  guilty.  The  first  of 
these  was  that  Kidd  had  communicated  in 
the  first  instance  with  his  old  friend  Emmot, 
who  Bellamont  says  was  "  a  cunning  Jaco- 
bite and  my  avowed  enemy."  The  second 
reason  assigned  is,  "I  thought  he  looked 
very  guilty."  It  is  not  improbable  that  poor 
Kidd  was  taken  aback  by  his  cold  reception ; 
but  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  whatever  his  de- 
meanor had  been,  it  would  have  been  re- 
garded by  the  Governor  as  a  sure  sign  of  his 
guilt.  Sometimes  during  his  examination 
he  seems  to  have  been  cheerful  and  breezy. 
With  what  result?  The  Governor  reports, 
"  Kidd  did  strangely  trifle  with  me  and  the 
Council  three  or  four  times  that  we  had  him 
under  examination."  Finding  that  his  joc- 
ular efforts  were  not  appreciated,  Kidd  not 

124 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

unnaturally  became  grave.  But  the  result 
was  still  unsatisfactory.  "  He  being  exam- 
ined two  or  three  times  by  the  Council  and 
also  some  of  his  men,  I  observed,"  says  Bel- 
lamont,  "  that  he  seemed  much  disturbed." 
The  last  time  he  was  under  examination,  his 
appearance  seems  again  to  have  changed, 
but  still,  as  ever,  for  the  worse.  Probably 
by  this  time  he  had  grown  restless  and  res- 
tive. "  I  fancied,"  Bellamont  writes,  "  he 
looked  as  if  he  were  upon  the  wing  and  re- 
solved to  run  away."  But  after  all,  the  chief 
offence  for  which  the  poor  man  was  at  last 
consigned  to  gaol,  was  not  committed  by 
him,  but  by  his  evil  genius,  Livingstone,  who 
asked  Bellamont  to  return  him  the  bond  he 
had  entered  into  for  Kidd's  good  behaviour. 
"  I  thought,"  says  Bellamont,  "  this  was 
such  an  impertinence  that  it  was  time  for  me 
to  look  about  me  and  secure  Kidd."  On  this 
last  point  the  version  of  the  anonymous  per- 
son of  quality  is  substantially  the  same  as 
Bellamont's.    "  Above  all,"  he  writes,  "  Liv- 

125 


THE   REAL    CAPTAIN   KIDD 

ingstone's  behaviour,  who  was  come  to  Bos- 
ton, and  very  peremptorily  demanded  from 
the  Earl  the  delivery  of  the  bond  which  he 
had  entered  into  for  Kidd's  honest  perform- 
ance of  his  duty  in  the  expedition  (as  if  that 
was  to  be  taken  for  granted)  gave  the  Earl 
of  Bellamont  good  reason  to  conclude  that 
no  time  was  to  be  lost.  Therefore  he  caused 
Kidd  to  be  seized  with  divers  of  his  crew." 
A  lamer  set  of  reasons  for  throwing  a  faith- 
ful subordinate  into  gaol  it  would  have  been 
difficult  for  the  most  unintelligent  official  to 
concoct. 

The  reply  of  the  Lords  Justices  to  Bella^ 
mont's  letters  was  the  dispatch  of  a  man-of- 
war,  the  Rochester,  to  bring  back  Kidd  and 
his  fellow-prisoners  to  England.  This  ship 
set  sail  before  the  end  of  September;  but 
came  back  to  Plymouth  in  November  for 
repairs.  Her  return  led  the  opposition  to 
believe  that  the  sending  of  her  out  had  been 
merely  a  pretence,  and  it  was  alleged  that  a 
great  number  of  other  ships  that  had  gone 

126 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

out  in  her  company  had  been  able  to  proceed 
on  their  voyage  and  to  reach  New  England 
safely.  The  wildest  rumours  were  in  circula- 
tion. The  prevailing  popular  opinion  seems 
to  have  been  that  the  four  great  ministers 
had  sent  Kidd  out  in  the  Adventure  Galley 
to  commit  acts  of  piracy  on  their  behalf; 
and  that  they  had  naturally  selected  for  this 
purpose  a  past-master  in  the  art  of  piracy. 
Some  would  have  it  that  Somers,  to  prevent 
unpleasant  disclosures,  had  already  set  the 
great  seal  to  his  pardon.  \  Evelyn,  in  his  -^ 
diary  of  the  third  of  December,  says: 
"  They  "  {i.  e..  Parliament)  "  called  some 
great  persons  in  the  highest  offices  in  ques- 
tion for  setting  the  Create  Scale  to  the  par- 
don of  an  arch  pirate,  who  had  turned  pirate 
again,  and  brought  prizes  to  the  West  In- 
dies, expecting  to  be  connived  at  on  sharing 
the  spoil."  Burnet,  writing  in  much  the  same 
strain,  says,  "  It  was  maliciously  insinuated 
that  the  privateer  turned  pirate  in  confi- 
dence of  the  protection  of  those  who  em- 

127 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ployed  liim,  if  he  had  not  secret  orders  for 
what  he  did."  It  is  difficult  to  say  whose 
reputation  suffered  more  at  this  juncture  — 
Kidd's  by  his  association  with  the  four  un- 
popular ministers,  or  the  four  unpopular 
ministers,  by  their  association  with  Kidd. ) 

On  the  completion  of  her  repairs,  the 
Rochester  set  sail  again  from  Plymouth  for 
New  York.  She  carried  a  letter  from  the 
Lords  Justices  to  Bellamont,  approving  his 
zeal  and  conduct  in  the  whole  affair,  and  re- 
quiring him  to  put  the  pirates  and  their 
goods  on  board  of  her.  The  delay  in  bring- 
ing Kidd  to  England,  whether  designed  or 
not,  was  most  unfortunate  for  him  and  most 
opportune  for  the  ministers.  The  opposi- 
tion seem  to  have  had  some  inkling  that 
Kidd's  return  was  being  purposely  delayed 
with  the  object  of  enabling  the  government 
to  deal  with  him  without  consulting  Parlia- 
ment. To  allay  these  suspicions,  a  certifi- 
cate was  produced  signed  by  all  the  officers 
of  the  Rochester,  from  which,  according  to 

128 


GROWTH   OF  PIRATE   MYTH 

Bellamont's  apologist,  it  appeared  that  they 
had  proceeded  on  their  course  to  America 
"  as  far  as  their  ship  was  able  to  bear  the 
beating  of  the  sea  and  then  resolved  to  re- 
turn to  England."  "  When  they  were  re- 
turned to  England,"  he  says,  "  by  a  like 
certificate  they  affirmed  the  same  thing,  and 
that  the  result  was  taken  merely  for  secur- 
ing the  ship  and  the  company's  lives." 
"  The  captain,"  he  adds,  "  by  his  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Admiralty  says  they  were 
got  500  leagues  before  they  met  the  storms. 
And  orders  being  sent  by  the  Admiralty  to 
Mr  St  Lo,  the  Commissioner  of  the  Ad- 
miralty at  Plymouth,  to  examine  into  the 
truth  of  the  matter,  he  certified  the  Lords 
of  the  Admiralty  that  in  pursuance  of  their 
commands  he,  with  the  assistance  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Yard,  had  made  a  thorough  sur- 
vey of  the  ship  and  (mentioning  the  several 
particular  defects)  they  unanimously  found 
there  was  a  necessity  for  her  coming  back." 
These  official  assurances  by  no  means  sat- 

129 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN   KIDD 

isfied  the  Commons.  On  the  sixteenth  of 
the  following  ^larch  they  presented  an  ad- 
dress to  the  King,  praying  that  Kidd  might 
not  be  tried,  discharged,  or  pardoned  until 
the  next  session  of  Parliament,  and  that 
Bellamont  might  be  required  in  the  mean- 
time to  transmit  over  to  England  all  com- 
missions, instructions,  and  other  papers 
taken  with  or  relating  to  him. 

The  King's  reply  to  this  address  was  com- 
municated to  the  House  on  the  eighth  of 
April,  1700,  by  Mr.  Secretary  Vernon,  who 
informed  the  Commons  that  he  had  pre- 
sented the  address  to  His  Majesty,  and  that 
His  Majesty  had  commanded  him  to  ac- 
quaint the  House  that  His  Majesty  having 
received  an  account  of  the  arrival  of  Captain 
Kidd  in  the  Isle  of  Lundy,  by  a  ship  which 
the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  had  sent  to  fetch 
him,  which  was  bound  for  the  Downs,  His 
Majesty  had  ordered  a  yacht  to  be  sent  to 
the  Downs  in  order  for  the  bringing  of  him 
up,  and  that  the  commissioners  of  the  Ad- 

130 


GROWTH   OF  PIRATE   MYTH 

miralty  were  likewise  directed  to  send  their 
marshal  to  take  him  into  custody. 

This  reply,  so  far  from  appeasing  the  op- 
position, seems  to  have  added  fuel  to  the 
flame  of  their  indignation.  Why  could  not 
the  King  assent  at  once  to  their  address? 
Why  had  the  Rochester  gone  out  of  her 
course  to  the  Isle  of  Lundy,  unless  it  were 
to  defer  the  bringing  home  of  Kidd  until 
Parliament  had  risen?  Accordingly,  a  few 
days  afterwards,  a  further  resolution  was 
moved  that  "  An  himible  address  be  pre- 
sented to  His  Majesty  to  remove  John, 
Lord  Somers,  Lord  Chancellor  of  England, 
from  his  presence  and  counsels  for  ever." 
The  motion  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  to  one  hundred 
and  six.  But  the  fact  that  one  hundred  and 
six  members  voted  for  it,  shows  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  party  feeling  against  Somers, 
and  the  widespread  suspicions  of  his  honesty 
that  prevailed  amongst  his  political  oppo- 
nents.   It  need  hardly  be  said  that  these  sus- 

131 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

picions  were  not  allayed  by  the  well-timed 
arrival  of  Kidd  and  his  fellow-prisoners  in 
London  on  board  the  King's  yacht,  on  the 
very  day  after  Parliament  had  risen.  The 
result  of  this  second  curious  close  coinci- 
dence of  date  which  has  occurred  in  the 
course  of  this  narrative,  was  that  Kidd  had 
arrived  too  late  to  be  examined  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  House.  He  was  therefore  pri- 
vately examined  by  the  Admiralty  officials, 
sent  to  Newgate,  and  ordered  to  be  kept  a 
close  prisoner. 

The  desire  of  the  House  of  Commons  that 
Kidd  should  not  be  tried,  discharged,  or  par- 
doned until  the  next  session  of  Parliament 
was  most  unfortunate  for  him,  because  it 
necessitated  his  being  kept  in  confinement 
with  his  fellow-prisoners  at  Newgate  for 
more  than  a  year.  But  it  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  unreasonable,  seeing  that  the 
necessary  documents  relating  to  him  had  not 
yet  been  laid  before  the  House;  that  time 
was  required  for  the  collection  of  evidence 

132 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

against  hiin  from  abroad;  and  that  such  of 
the  facts  relating  to  him  and  his  employers 
as  had  already  been  disclosed,  afforded  some 
ground  for  suspecting  that  the  four  incul- 
pated ministers  were  far  from  blameless. 
It  is  the  one  satisfactory  feature  in  this  very 
unpleasant  case,  that  no  discredit  attaches 
to  the  action  of  the  House  of  Commons  in 
respect  of  its  treatment  of  Kidd,  either  in 
this  session  or  the  next. 

On  the  sixth  of  March  in  the  following 
year  ( 1701 ) ,  the  House,  having  reassembled, 
ordered  that  the  examinations  of  Kidd  and 
all  papers  relating  to  him,  transmitted  by 
the  Earl  of  Bellamont  (who,  it  may  be  men-  y/ 
tioned,  was  now  dead),  be  laid  before  them 
by  the  Admiralty.  On  the  next  day,  they 
were  presented;  and  it  was  ordered  that 
such  of  them  as  came  from  the  Admiralty 
sealed  up,  be  opened,  and  the  private  exam- 
inations of  Captain  Kidd  before  the  Admi- 
ralty were  accordingly  opened  and  read.  It 
appeared  from  them  that  Kidd  had  denied 

133 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

that  he  had  ever  seen  Shrewsbury  or  Somers ; 
or  had  heard  more  of  them  than  that  they 
were  two  of  his  owners;  that  he  admitted 
that  Bellamont  had  introduced  him  to  the 
Earl  of  Orford,  and  that  Colonel  Hewetson 
had  carried  him  to  the  Earl  of  Romney, 
which  was  all  he  knew  of  them. 

The  papers  delivered  up  by  the  Admi- 
ralty related  not  only  to  Kidd,  but  also  to 
atrocities  which  had  been  committed  in  the 
East  Indies  by  pirates,  who  had  nothing  to 
do  with  him,  and  which  had  apparently  been 
mixed  up  with  his  narrative,  with  the  object 
of  obscuring  the  case  and  creating  a  preju- 
dice against  him.  The  Commons  appointed 
a  committee  to  sort  them,  and  to  report  to 
the  House  which  of  them  related  to  Kidd. 
On  the  twenty-seventh  of  March  this  com- 
mittee reported  that  they  had  done  this ;  and 
their  chairman.  Sir  Humphrey  Mackworth, 
delivered  them  in  at  the  clerk's  table,  divided 
into  two  parcels,  one  containing  the  papers 
relating  to  Kidd,  and  the  other  the  papers 

134 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

that  did  not  relate  to  him.  Then  Kidd's  pri- 
vate examinations  before  the  Admiralty  were 
again  read;  and  Kidd,  being  brought  in  by 
the  keeper  of  Newgate,  was  called  in.  A 
petition  from  Cogi  Babba,  which  had  been 
presented  to  the  House,  was  also  read.  This 
petition  is  noteworthy  as  being  the  only 
complaint  to  the  House  made  by  those  who 
were  alleged  at  his  trial  to  have  been  plun- 
dered by  him.  It  purported  to  be  presented 
by  Cogi  Babba,  on  behalf  of  himself  and 
other  Armenians,  inhabitants  of  Chalfa,  the 
suburb  of  Spahow,  and  subjects  to  the  King 
of  Persia.  It  merely  set  forth  that  the  peti- 
tioners had  freighted  a  ship  called  the  Karry 
Merchant  (better  known  as  the  Quedagh 
Merchant  —  and  referred  to  in  the  French 
pass  as  Car  a  Marchand),  from  Surat  to 
Bengal,  where  the  petitioners  loaded  her  at 
prime  cost  to  the  value  of  four  hundred 
thousand  rupees,  besides  forty  thousand 
inipees,  the  cost  of  the  ship,  which  was  all 
taken  and  carried  away  by  Captain  Kidd, 

135 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIX   KIDD 

on  the  ship's  returning  to  Surat  about  Feb- 
ruary, 1697;  and  it  merely  prayed  that  Kidd 
might  be  examined  touching  the  premises, 
and  the  petitioners  relieved  concerning  the 
same. 

After  the  reading  of  these  papers  Kidd 
was  examined  and  withdrew,  and  was  re- 
manded to  Newgate;  and  it  was  decided 
that  the  House  would  the  next  day  take  into 
consideration  the  patent,  commission  and 
instructions  to  Kidd,  which  they  did  with 
the  result  that  a  motion  was  made  that  the 
grant  passed  under  the  Great  Seal  by 
Somers  to  Bellamont  and  others  of  the  goods 
to  be  taken  from  the  pirates  before  their 
conviction  was  illegal  and  void.  The  ques- 
tion being  put,  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
members  voted  in  favour  of  the  motion  and 
one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  against  it. 

The  House  then  decided  that  Kidd  should 
be  put  on  his  trial  in  the  ordinary  course; 
and  on  the  sixteenth  of  April,  about  three 
weeks  before  it  took  place,  being  informed 

136 


GROWTH   OF   PIRATE   MYTH 

that  he  had  sent  to  the  Admiralty  that  he 
might  have  the  use  of  his  commission  and 
some  other  papers  at  his  trial,  ordered  that 
"  the  said  Commission  and  such  other  papers 
as  Captain  Kidd  desires  be  delivered  by  the 
Clerk  of  this  House  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Admiralty."  Had  this  order  been  com- 
plied with,  and  the  papers  been  accessible  to 
Kidd  or  his  legal  advisers,  he  would  have  had 
a  complete  answer  to  the  charge  of  piracy 
brought  against  him.  For  they  included 
the  precious  French  passes,  which  had  justi- 
fied his  seizure  of  his  two  prizes. 


18T 


CHAPTER    FIVE 


V 


CHAPTER  V 

KIDD^S  FIRST  TRIAL  AT  THE  OLD  BAILEY 

IF  any  of  the  great  personages  involved 
in  Kidd's  case  took  the  trouble  to  look 
into  the  voluminous  i^apers  relating  to  it, 
which  had  been  sent  over  to  England  by 
Bellamont  for  presentation  to  Parliament, 
they  must  at  once  have  realized  that  Kidd's 
prosecution  was  attended  with  great  diffi- 
culties. Notwithstanding  the  public  preju- 
dice which  had  been  aroused  against  him, 
and  the  fact  that  he  was  not  only  a  Scotch- 
man, but  also  a  Colonial,  they  could  hardly 
have  believed  that  an  Enghsh  jury  could 
be  asked  with  safety  to  convict  him  of 
piracy,  on  any  of  the  grounds  on  which 
Bellamont  had  committed  him  to  gaol  at 
Boston,  either  because  he  had  been  described 
by  the  Lords  Justices  as  a  notorious  pirate 

141 


V 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

or  because  he  was  thought  to  look  guilty,  or 
because  during  his  examination  he  had  in 
Bellamont's  opinion  seemed  at  one  time 
unduly  cheerful,  and  at  another  unduly 
grave,  or  even  because  some  one  else  had 
been  so  impertinent  as  to  ask  prematurely 
for  the  return  of  a  bond.  Kidd's  own  simple 
narrative,  which  it  is  impossible  to  doubt 
that  some  of  them  must  have  read  with  in- 
terest, if  not  with  shame,  supported  as  it 
was  by  the  depositions  of  such  of  his  crew 
as  had  remained  faithful  to  him,  contained 
no  inherent  improbabilities,  but  bore  the  im- 
press of  truth,  and  satisfactorily  accounted 
for  his  detention  at  Madagascar.  No  flaw 
was  apparent  in  either  of  the  French  passes, 
which  he  had  taken  with  liis  prizes,  and 
which  were  included  amongst  the  papers 
sent  over  by  Bellamont.  It  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  any  one  who  read  them  failed 
to  come  to  the  same  conclusion  that  Bella- 
mont had  expressed,  that  they  would  justify 
the  seizure  of  the  two  vessels  to  which  they 

142 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

related.  The  sole  foundation  for  the  sus- 
picions that  attached  to  Kidd,  apart  from  his 
unfortunate  and  disreputable  connection 
with  Lord  Chancellor  Somers,  and  other  un- 
popular members  of  the  Ministry,  was  the 
vague  allegation  made  some  years  before  by 
the  East  India  Company,  that  "  they  had 
received  some  information  from  their  fac- 
tories that  he  had  committed  several  acts  of 
piracy,  particularly  in  seizing  the  Quedagh 
Merchant."  From  the  papers  presented 
to  Parliament  it  seemed  now  clear  that  his 
capture  of  that  ship  was  justified;  and  that 
he  was  on  his  way  home  with  her  to  New 
England  with  the  object  of  getting  her  ad- 
judicated a  lawful  prize,  when  his  men  had 
gone  over  to  Culhford,  and  prevented  him 
from  carrying  her  to  Boston.  As  one  at 
least  of  the  adventurers,  Orford,  the  late  First 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  should  have  known, 
she  could  not  have  been  condemned  as  a  law- 
ful prize  in  the  East  Indies,  owing  to  the 
neglect  of  the  Admiralty  to  follow  the  advice 

143 


/  THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

of  their  own  judge,  to  erect  a  Vice- Admi- 
ralty Court  there,  as  had  been  done  in  the 
West  Indies.  The  East  India  Company- 
must  have  been  pressed  after  Kidd's  arrest, 
to  substantiate  their  vague  charges  against 
him.  It  is  inconceivable,  having  regard  to 
their  interest  in  his  conviction,  that  they  left 
any  stone  unturned  to  procure  evidence 
against  him  during  the  two  years  that  he 
remained  in  confinement.  But  whatever 
their  efforts  may  have  been,  they  seem  to 
have  been  unsuccessful.  No  person  was 
found  to  come  forward  and  allege  that  he 
had  any  knowledge  of  Kidd's  alleged  pi- 
racies, except  Cogi  Babba,  one  of  the  owners 
of  the  Quedagh  Merchant.  And  for  the 
reason  already  explained,  his  evidence  would 
be  valueless,  if  the  French  passes  were  pro- 
duced  in  Court. 

But  the  Old  Bailey  practitioners  of  that 
day,  who  were  no  doubt  consulted  in  due 
course,  were  adepts  in  their  trade,  and  it  is 
unlikely  that  they  entertained  any  serious 

144 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

doubt  from  the  first  as  to  the  lines  on  which 
Kidd's  prosecution  in  the  interests  of  their 
clients  should  proceed,  or  as  to  its  ultimate 
success.  They  knew  that  he  was  friendless 
and  that  it  was  nobody's  interest  in  England 
but  his  own  that  he  should  be  acquitted. 
They  knew  that  no  London  jury  that  tried 
him  could  fail  to  be  influenced  by  their 
knowledge  that  he  had  been  denounced  by 
the  Lords  Justices  and  the  East  India  Com- 
pany as  a  notorious  pirate,  or  dismiss  from 
their  minds  the  innumerable  wild  tales  which 
had  for  years  been  disseminated  to  his  disad- 
vantage.^  They  knew  also,  none  better,  the 

^  According  to  one  of  these,  he  was  said  to  have  been 
captured  by  a  French  Man-of-War,  the  commander  of 
which  had  sent  him  in  irons  to  the  Great  Mogul.  Ac- 
cording to  another,  he  had  gone  to  Darien,  where  the 
Scots  had  received  him,  and  all  his  riches.  At  one  time  he 
was  reported  to  have  offered  the  Dutch  Governor  of  St. 
Thomas,  forty-five  thousand  pieces  of  eight  in  gold  and  a 
great  present  in  goods,  if  he  would  protect  him  for  a  month. 
At  another  he  was  said  to  have  proffered  twenty  thou- 
sand pounds  for  his  pardon.  In  the  popular  imagination 
he  had  in  fact  figured  as  the  Prince  of  Pirates  for  some 
three  years  before  his  trial.     See  Appendix  E. 

145 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

practical  difficulties  which  confronted  every 
poor  wretch  brought  to  trial  in  those  days 
on  a  capital  charge  by  unscrupulous  persons, 
who  could  afford  to  bribe  or  terrify  miscre- 
ants into  bearing  false  evidence  against  him. 
Incredible  as  it  may  seem  to  us  with  our 
modern  notions  of  fair  play  and  the  belief 
which  has  been  instilled  into  some  of  us  of 
the  wisdom  of  our  ancient  common  law,  much 
of  which  was  as  hopelessly  absurd  as  many 
of  the  nostrums  and  theories  of  the  medical 
men  of  those  days,  accused  persons  in  crimi- 
nal cases  were  forced  to  conduct  their  o^vn 
defence  and  were  not  allowed  the  assistance 
of  counsel,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  or 
cross-examining  witnesses  or  commenting 
on  any  question  of  fact.  Counsel  on  their 
behalf  were  only  permitted  to  address  the 
Court  on  questions  of  law;  the  legal  fiction 
being  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  a  pris- 
oner to  employ  counsel  to  elucidate  the 
facts:  that  the  judge  could  be  trusted  to 
see  that  this  was  properly  done:  and  that 

146 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

the  jury  could  be  trusted  to  give  the  pris- 
oner the  benefit  of  any  reasonable  doubt. 
Xeedless  to  say  this  fiction  led  to  the  fre- 
quent conviction  of  innocent  persons,  and 
was  a  great  encouragement  to  perjured  wit- 
nesses. Many  a  villain,  who  but  for  it 
would  have  hesitated  to  be  suborned,  was 
induced  by  it  to  come  forward  for  a  small 
consideration  and  swear  to  anything  that 
his  employers  desired.  Still  more  ready 
were  some  poor  creatures  to  do  this,  if  they 
had  brought  their  own  necks  within  meas- 
urable distance  of  the  noose,  and  their 
refusal  to  swear  away  the  life  of  the  accused 
would  entail  their  own  death  by  hanging. 
In  the  present  case,  no  trustworthy  evidence 
of  reputable  witnesses  being  forthcoming 
against  Kidd,  the  legal  advisers  of  the  Crown 
very  naturally  had  recourse  to  the  well- 
known  last  resort  open  to  them,  and  set 
themselves  to  find  some  one  or  more  scoun- 
drels, who  would  be  willing  to  turn  King's 
evidence  against  him.    Twelve  seamen,  most 

147 


THE   REAL    CAPTAIN   KIDD 

of  whom  had  remained  faithfid  to  their 
comjnander,  were  now  imprisoned  with  him, 
awaiting  their  trial  for  piracy.  We  shall 
never  know  how  many  of  these  were  ap- 
proached by  the  prosecution.  What  we  do 
know  is,  that  not  one  of  them  was  induced 
to  become  King's  evidence.  If  Kidd  had 
been  guilty  of  the  crimes  of  which  he  was 
accused,  this  in  itself  would  have  been  a 
remarkable  circumstance:  for  some  of  these 
poor  men  might  have  been  expected  to 
reconcile  their  consciences  to  the  saving  of 
their  own  lives  by  giving  evidence  against 
him.  Not  one  of  them  did  so.  The  only 
witnesses  who  could  be  found  to  testify 
against  him  were  two  rogues,  who  on  their 
own  admission  had  deserted  him  at  Mada- 
gascar, and  joined  Culliford  in  open  piracy 
against  all  nations.  These  men  had  impru- 
dently returned  to  London,  where  unfor- 
tunately for  themselves  and  Kidd,  they  were 
unearthed  by  emissaries  of  the  prosecution 
before  the  trial  came  on.    Their  lives  would 

148 


KIDD'S  FIRST   TRIAL 

justly  have  been  forfeited  if  they  had  not 
agreed  to  give  the  evidence  on  which  their 
old  commander  and  comrades  were  con- 
victed. What  that  evidence  amounted  to, 
wiU  be  seen  in  due  course. 

Another  hardship  to  which  the  accused 
were  subjected  in  those  days  was  this,  that 
besides  being  deprived  of  the  assistance  of 
counsel  to  cross-examine  and  comment  on 
the  evidence,  they  were  left  in  ignorance 
sometimes  to  the  last  moment  of  the  charges 
to  be  made  against  them.  Kidd  had  every 
reason  to  l3elieve,  when  brought  into  Court 
for  trial,  that  the  only  charge  he  had  to  meet 
was  piracy.  He  had  been  committed  by 
Bellamont  for  piracy,  and  examined  before 
the  Admiralty  and  the  House  of  Commons 
on  that  charge.  The  great  men  with  whom 
he  had  been  associated  were  supposed  to 
have  employed  him  because  he  was  a  pirate.  ^ 
No  suggestion  had  been  made  that  he  had 
been  guilty  of  any  other  crime.  And  yet 
when  he  came  into  Court,  the  first  charge 

149 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

against  him  was  not  that  he  had  been  a 
pirate,  but  that  he  was  guilty  of  an  offence 
of  a  totally  different  character,  a  charge  of 
which  no  notice  whatever  had  apparently 
been  given  him,  and  to  meet  which  he  had 
had  no  opj^ortunity  of  obtaining  legal  ad- 
vice or  preparing  his  defence. 

Nor  was  this  all.  He  was  a  man  of  sub- 
stance in  America  when  arrested.  But  in 
gaol  in  England  he  was  without  money  or 
friends  to  prepare  for  his  trial.  Although 
the  Court  had  ordered  fifty  pounds  to  be 
paid  to  him  that  he  might  have  legal  advice, 
the  money  was  not  delivered  to  him  till  the 
night  before  he  was  tried.  What  was,  if 
possible,  unfairer  than  any  of  these  things 
was  the  deliberate  withholding  from  him  by 
the  officials  of  the  papers,  which  the  House 
of  Commons  had  ordered  to  be  delivered  to 
the  Admiralty  for  the  jiurposes  of  his  trial, 
and  in  particular  the  two  French  passes,  on 
which  he  relied  to  prove  that  he  had  been 
justified  in  taking  the  two  prizes,  in  respect 

150 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

of  which  he  was  accused  of  piracy.  No  won- 
der that  he  pleaded  hard  for  the  production 
of  these  papers  and  the  postponement  of 
his  trial,  until  he  was  allowed  access  to  them. 
That  there  can  be  no  question  of  the  accu- 
racy of  the  foregoing  statements,  appears 
clearly  from  the  verbatim  report  of  his  trial, 
perused  and  approved  by  the  judges  and 
counsel  who  took  part  in  it.  Take  first  this 
extract  from  that  report. 

"  KiDD.  May  it  please  your  Lordships, 
I  desire  you  to  permit  me  to  have  counsel. 

"Recorder  (Sir  Salathial  Lovel).  What 
would  you  have  counsel  for? 

"  KiDD.  My  lord.  I  have  some  matter  of 
law,  relating  to  the  indictment,  and  I  desire 
I  may  have  counsel  to  plead  to  it."  (He  had 
evidently  been  coached  up  on  this  point  that 
morning  or  the  night  before  by  his  legal 
advisers.) 

"  Dr.  OxENDEN.  What  matter  of  law 
can  you  have? 

*'  Clerk  of  Arraigns.   How  does  he  know 

151 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN    KIDD 

what  he  is  charged  with?    I  have  not  told 
him. 

"  Recorder.  You  must  let  the  Court  know 
what  these  matters  of  law  are,  before  you 
can  have  counsel  assigned  you. 

"  KiDD.  I  know  what  I  mean.  I  desire  to 
put  off  my  trial  as  long  as  I  can,  till  I  can 
get  my  evidence  ready. 

"  Dr.  OxENDEN.  It  cannot  be  matter  of 
law  to  put  off  your  trial. 

"  KiDD.  I  beg  your  Lordships'  patience 
till  I  can  procure  my  papers.  I  had  a  couple 
of  French  passes,  which  I  must  make  use  of 
in  order  to  my  justification. 

"  Recorder.    That  is  not  matter  of  law. 

"  KiDD.  I  sent  for  them,  but  I  could  not 
have  them. 

**Dr.  Oxenden.    Where  were  they  then? 

"  KiDD.  I  brought  them  to  my  Lord 
Bellamont  in  New  England. 

"  Recorder.  Mr.  Kidd,  the  Court  sees  no 
reason  to  put  off  your  trial  —  you  must 
plead. 

152 


KIDD'S  PIRST   TRIAL 

"  KiDD.  If  your  Lordship  will  permit 
those  papers  to  be  read  they  will  justify  me. 

"  Recorder.   Mr.  Kidd,  you  must  plead. 

"  Kidd.  I  camiot  plead  till  I  have  those 
papers  I  have  insisted  upon. 

"  Mr.  Lemmon  (one  of  his  counsel) .  He 
ought  to  have  his  papers  delivered  to  him, 
because  they  are  very  material  for  his 
defence.  He  has  endeavoured  to  have  them, 
but  could  not  get  them. 

"  Mr.  CoNiERs  {one  of  the  counsel  for  the 
prosecution).  You  are  not  to  appear  for 
any  one  until  he  pleads,  and  that  the  Court 
assigns  you  for  his  counsel. 

"  Recorder.  They  would  only  put  off  the 
trial. 

"  Mr.  Coniers.  He  must  plead  to  the  in- 
dictment. 

"  Kidd.  It  is  a  hard  case,  when  all  these 
things  shall  be  kept  from  me,  and  I  shall  be 
called  on  to  plead. 

"  Clerk  of  Arraigns.    Make  silence. 

"  Kidd.    My  papers  were  all  seized,  and  I 

153 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

cannot  make  my  defence  without  them.  I 
desire  my  trial  to  be  put  off  until  I  can  have 
them. 

"  Recorder.  If  he  will  not  plead,  there 
must  be  judgment. 

"  KiDD.  My  lord,  I  insist  upon  my^ 
French  passes.    Pray  let  me  have  them. 

"  Recorder.  Mr.  Kidd,  I  must  tell  you,  if 
you  will  not  plead,  you  must  have  judgment 
against  you,  as  standing  mute. 

"  Kidd.  If  your  Lordships  permit  those 
passes  to  be  read,  they  will  justify  me.  If 
I  plead,  I  shall  be  accessory  to  my  own 
death,  till  I  have  persons  to  plead  for  me. 

"  Recorder.  You  are  accessory  to  your 
own  death,  if  you  do  not  plead. 

"  Kidd.  My  lord,  would  you  have  me  to 
plead,  and  not  have  my  vindication  by  me?" 

After  a  long  altercation,  Kidd  was  at 
length  persuaded  to  hold  up  his  hand  in 
token  that  he  pleaded  not  guilty.  His  first 
indictment  was  then  read,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing are  the  most  material  parts:  "The 

154 


KIDD'S  FIRST   TRIAL 

jurors  of  our  sovereign  Lord  the  King  do 
upon  their  oath  present  that  WiUiam  Kidd, 
late  of  London,  mariner,  not  having  the  fear 
of  God  before  his  eyes,  but  being  moved  and 
seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the  Devil, 
against  the  peace  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  the 
King,  violently,  feloniously,  voluntarily,  and 
of  maUce  aforethought,  did  make  an  assault  in 
and  upon  one  William  Moore  upon  the  high 
seas  near  the  coast  of  Malabar  in  the  East 
Indies,  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Admiralty,  with  a  certain  wooden  bucket, 
bound  with  iron  hoops  of  the  value  of  eight 
pence,  giving  the  said  William  Moore  with 
the  bucket  aforesaid  upon  the  right  part  of 
the  head  one  mortal  bruise,  of  which  mortal 
bruise  the  aforesaid  William  Moore  did  lan- 
guish and  die.  How  sayst  thou,  William 
Kidd,  art  thou  guilty  of  this  murder, 
whereof  thou  standest  indicted,  or  not 
guilty?" 

Poor   Kidd  may  well  have  been  taken 
aback,  as  he  listened  to  this  astounding  in- 

155 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

dictnient.  So  this  was  what  that  rascally 
Clerk  of  Arraigns  had  been  hinting  at,  when 
he  said  he  did  not  yet  know  what  he  was 
charged  with.  What  on  earth  was  the  mean- 
ing of  all  this  legal  chicanerj'^?  He  had  been 
committed  by  Bellamont  at  Boston,  because 
he  was  supposed  to  be  a  pirate,  and  sent  over 
to  London  to  be  tried,  because  piracy  was 
not  a  hanging  offence  in  America.  Murder 
was  a  hanging  offence  in  America.  If  he 
was  supposed  to  be  a  murderer,  why  had  he 
not  been  tried  for  murder  there?  If  he  was 
to  be  tried  for  murder  here,  why  had  no 
notice  of  this  charge  been  given  him,  unless 
it  were  to  prevent  him  from  preparing  his 
defence,  and  getting  his  evidence  ready? 
He  had  been  examined  at  great  length  by 
Bellamont  and  his  Council,  and  by  the  Ad- 
miralty and  the  House  of  Commons  as  to  his 
supposed  piracy ;  but  in  neither  examination 
does  it  appear  that  the  slightest  suggestion 
had  been  made  that  he  was  a  murderer.  By 
whose  trick  was  it  that  he  was  now  to  be 

156 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

tried  for  murder?  But  although  the  accusa- 
tion seemed  too  ridiculous  for  any  one  to 
bring  against  him,  except  lawyers  at  their 
wits'  ends  to  find  some  excuse  for  hanging 
him,  it  had  to  be  met,  and  he  met  it  promptly 
by  pleading,  "  Not  guilty."  Then  he  again 
proffered  his  request  to  have  counsel  as- 
signed him,  naming  Dr.  Oldish  and  Mr. 
Lemmon,  whom  he  had  apparently  con- 
sulted that  morning  or  the  night  before, 
after  getting  his  fifty  pounds.  His  appli- 
cation was  granted,  but  subject  only  to  the 
condition  that  he  had  to  plead  any  matter 
of  law. 

His  counsel  then  addressed  the  Court, 
but  only  on  the  question  of  the  postpone- 
ment of  his  trial  for  piracy. 

"  Dr.  Oldish.  My  lord,  he  moves  that 
his  trial  for  piracy  may  be  put  off  for  sev- 
eral reasons.  It  is  very  fit  that  it  should  be 
put  off  for  some  time,  because  he  wants  some 
papers  very  necessary  for  liis  defence.  It 
is  very  true  he  is  charged  with  piracy  in  sev- 

157 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

eral  ships.  But  they  had  French  passes, 
when  the  seizure  was  made.  Now  if  there 
were  French  passes,  it  was  a  lawful  seizure. 

"  Justice  PowEL.  Have  you  those 
passes? 

"KiDD.  They  were  taken  from  me  by  my 
Lord  Bellamont,  and  those  passes  would  be 
my  defence. 

"  Mr.  Lemmon.  My  lord,  I  desire  one 
word  as  to  this  circumstance.  He  was  doing 
his  King  and  country  service  instead  of  be- 
ing a  pirate.  For  in  this  very  ship,  there 
was  a  French  pass,  and  it  was  shown  to  Mr. 
Davies  and  carried  to  my  Lord  Bellamont, 
and  he  made  a  seizure  of  it.  And  there  was 
a  letter  ^  writ  to  testify  it,  which  was  pro- 
duced before  the  Parliament  "  (apparently 
neither  Kidd  nor  his  counsel  were  aware 
that  the  passes  themselves  had  beer  laid  be- 
fore Parliament  and  delivered  over  to  the 
Admiralty  for  production  at  the  trial) ,  "  and 

'  Bellamont's  hypocritical  letter  to  Kidd  of  the  nine- 
teenth of  June,  1699  (see  Chapter  III). 

158 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

that  letter  has  been  transmitted  from  hand 
to  hand,  so  that  we  cannot  at  present  come 
by  it.  There  are  several  other  letters  and 
papers  that  we  cannot  get,  and  therefore  we 
desire  the  trial  may  be  put  off  till  we  can 
procure  them. 

"  Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  Where  are 
they? 

*'  Mr.  Lemmon.  We  cannot  yet  tell 
whether  they  are  in  the  Admiralty,  or 
whether  Mr.  Jodrell  hath  them. 

"  Justice  PowEL.  Let  us  see  on  what  you 
go.  What  ship  was  it  that  had  the  French 
passes? 

"  Mr.  Lemmon.  The  same  we  were  in. 
The  same  he  is  indicted  for. 

"  The  Solicitor  General.  They  have 
had  a  fortnight's  notice  to  prepare  for  the 
trial. 

"  Dr.  Oldish.  We  petitioned  for  money, 
and  the  Court  ordered  fifty  pounds,  but  the 
person  that  received  it  went  away,  and  we 
had  none  till  last  night. 

159 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

"  Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  You 
ought  to  make  it  out  that  there  is  a  reason- 
able cause  to  put  off  the  trial,  otherwise  it 
cannot  be  allowed.  What  notice  have  they 
had? 

"  The  Solicitor  General.  A  fortnight's 
notice  —  this  day  fortnight. 

"  Dr.  Oldish.  My  lord,  he  should  have 
had  his  money  delivered  to  him. 

"  KiDi).  I  had  no  money  nor  friends  to 
prepare  for  my  trial  till  last  night. 

"  Mr.  Lemmon.  My  lord,  we  will  be 
ready  to-morrow  morning. 

"  The  Solicitor  General.  My  lord,  this 
we  will  do.  In  the  meantime  let  him  be  tried 
for  the  murder,  wherein  there  is  no  pretence 
of  want  of  witnesses  and  passes." 

This  preposterous  proposal,  which  in  ef- 
fect was  that  Kidd  should  be  tried  at  once 
on  an  indictment  for  murder  sprung  upon 
him  a  few  moments  before,  arising  out  of  an 
incident  that  had  occurred  some  three  and 
a  half  years  previously,  and  be  forced  on  the 

160 


KIDD  S  FIRST    TRIAL 

spur  of  the  moment  without  conferring  with 
any  legal  adviser,  to  conduct  his  own  de- 
fence with  the  Solicitor  General  and  other 
eminent  counsel  against  him,  seems  to  have 
excited  no  comment,  but  to  have  been  as- 
sented to  as  a  matter  of  course. 

"  The  Clerk  of  Areaigns.  Set  aside  all 
but  Captain  Kidd.  William  Kidd,  you  are 
now  to  be  tried  on  the  bill  of  murder.  The 
jury  is  going  to  be  sworn.  If  you  have  any 
cause  of  exception  you  may  speak  to  them, 
as  they  come  to  the  Book. 

"  Kidd.  I  shall  challenge  none.  I  know 
nothing  to  the  contrary,  but  that  they  are 
all  honest  men." 

The  greater  part  of  the  evidence  in  this 
trial  has  already  been  given  verbatim  in  the 
narrative  of  the  voyage  of  the  Adventure 
Galley.  It  is  clear  from  it  that  the  crew  for 
some  time  before  the  altercation,  which  led 
to  Moore's  death,  had  been  on  the  brink  of 
mutiny;  that  Moore  was  the  spokesman  of  \/ 
the  mutineers  who  were  prevented  by  Kidd 

161 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

from  seizing  the  Dutch  ship,  and  that  he 
and  his  associates  had  concocted  a  plan,  by 
which  they  thought  they  might  have  seized 
her  and  extorted  documentary  evidence 
from  the  Dutchmen  to  excuse  themselves 
and  Kidd  in  the  event  of  their  being  called 
in  question  for  doing  so.  The  balance  of 
evidence  is  strongly  in  favor  of  Moore's 
having  upbraided  Kidd  in  the  altercation 
which  ended  in  the  fatal  blow,  for  not  hav- 
ing allowed  the  mutineers  to  have  their  own 
way.  When  Kidd  called  him  "  a  lousie 
dog,"  his  answer  practically  was  that  if 
Kidd  had  taken  his  advice,  he  and  his  com- 
panions, so  far  from  being  "  lousie  dogs," 
would  have  made  their  fortmie  and  been 
gentlemen.  Kidd  seems  to  have  knocked 
him  down  in  a  moment  of  very  justifiable 
indignation,  and  without  any  intention  of 
killing  him.  It  is  not  even  clear  from  the 
evidence  that  Moore  died  of  the  blow.  The 
only  two  witnesses  against  Kidd  at  the  trial 
were  Palmer  and  Bradenham.     On  Kidd's 

162 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

behalf  three  of  the  prisoners,  Owens,  Par- 
rott,  and  Barlicorn,  gave  evidence,  and  Kidd 
offered  to  call  the  rest  of  them  if  necessary. 
When  he  asked  Bradenham,  the  principal 
witness  against  him,  with  a  view  to  test  the 
value  of  his  evidence,  whether  he  had  not 
been  in  the  mutiny  himself,  he  was  pre- 
vented from  insisting  on  an  answer  by  the 
Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward,  who  said,  "  You 
will  not  infer  that  if  he  was  a  mutineer  it 
was  lawful  for  you  to  kill  Moore."  Not 
only  was  he  prevented  from  eliciting  this 
fact,  which  would  have  tended  to  discredit 
the  chief  witness  against  him,  but  he  was 
prevented  from  calling  evidence  as  to  his 
own  character.  The  Lord  Chief  Baron 
summed  up  very  summarily  against  him,  be- 
ing evidently  desirous  of  ending  the  case  as 
quickly  as  possible. 

"  The  prisoner  is  indicted,"  said  he,  "  for 
murder.  Now  to  make  the  killing  of  a  man 
to  be  murder,  there  must  be  malice  prepense 
either  express  or  implied.    The  law  implies 

163 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

malice,  when  one  man  without  any  reason- 
able cause  or  provocation  kills  another.  You 
have  had  this  cause  opened  to  you.  What 
mutiny  or  discourse  might  be  a  fortnight  or 
month  before  will  not  be  any  reason  for  so 
long  continuance  of  passion."  (Had  the 
Lord  Chief  Baron  ever  been  in  command 
himself  of  a  mutinous  crew,  he  might  have 
thought  otherwise.)  "But  what  did  arise 
at  the  time,  the  witnesses  tell  j^ou."  (As  a 
matter  of  fact,  they  were  far  from  agreeing 
as  to  the  conversation.)  "  The  first  wit- 
ness "  (King's  evidence)  *'  tells  you,  the  first 
words  that  were  spoken  were  by  Mr.  Kidd, 
and  upon  his  answer,  Mr.  Kidd  calls  him, 
'  lousie  dog.'  The  reply  was,  '  If  I  am  so, 
you  have  made  me  so.'  Now,  gentlemen,  I 
leave  it  to  you  to  consider,  whether  that 
could  be  a  reasonable  occasion  or  provoca- 
tion to  take  a  bucket  and  knock  the  deceased 
on  the  head  and  kill  him.  Now  for  the  pris- 
oner on  such  a  saying,  and  without  any  other 
provocation  to  take  a  bucket  and  knock  a 

164 


KIDD'S  FIRST    TRIAL 

man  on  the  head  and  kill  him  must  be 
deemed  an  unjustifiable  act.  For,  as  I  have 
said,  if  one  man  kill  another  without  provo- 
cation or  reasonable  cause,  the  law  presumes 
and  implies  malice;  and  then  such  killing 
will  be  murder  in  the  sense  of  the  law,  as 
being  done  of  malice  prepense.  If  there  be 
a  sudden  falling  out  and  fighting  and  one  is 
killed  in  heat  of  blood,  then  the  law  calls  it 
manslaughter,  but  in  such  a  case  as  this,  that 
happens  on  slight  words,  the  prisoner  calls 
the  deceased  a  '  lousie  dog,'  and  the  de- 
ceased says,  '  If  I  be  so,  you  have  made  me 
so,'  can  this  be  a  reasonable  cause  to  kill 
him?  and  if  you  believe  them  not  to  be  a  rea- 
sonable cause  of  provocation  I  cannot  see 
what  distinction  can  be  made,  but  that  the 
prisoner  is  guilty  of  murder.  Indeed,  if 
there  had  been  a  mutiny  at  that  time,  then 
there  might  have  been  a  reasonable  cause 
for  him  to  plead  in  his  defence,  and  it  ought 
to  have  been  taken  into  consideration.  But 
it  appears  that  what  mutiny  there  was,  was 

165 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

a  fortnight  at  least  before."  (There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  crew  were  on  the  brink 
of  mutiny  for  months  before  and  months 
after  this  occurrence.)  "Therefore,  gentle- 
men, I  must  leave  it  to  you,  if  you  believe 
the  King's  witness,  and  one  of  the  prisoner's 
own"  (Query,  and  disregard  the  evidence 
of  Kidd  and  the  others) ,  "  that  this  blow  was 
given  by  the  prisoner  in  the  manner  afore- 
said, and  are  satisfied  that  it  was  done  with- 
out reasonable  cause  or  provocation,  then  he 
will  be  guilty  of  murder,  and  if  you  do  be- 
lieve him  guilty  of  murder  on  this  evidence, 
you  must  find  him  so,  if  not  you  must  acquit 
him." 

The  jury  then  withdrew,  and  in  about  an 
hour  returned  and  gave  in  their  verdict 
"  Guilty." 

Clerk  of  Arraigns.  "  Look  to  him, 
keeper." 


166 


CHAPTER    SIX 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   SUBSEQUENT   TRIALS   FOR   PIRACY 

ON  the  following  day  Kidd  and  his  fel- 
low prisoners  were  tried  at  the  Old 
Bailey  for  the  piratical  seizure  of  the 
Quedagh  Merchant  and  other  alleged  pi- 
racies of  minor  importance,  this  trial  having, 
as  has  already  been  explained,  been  post- 
poned in  order  that  Kidd  might  get  the 
papers  which  had  been  ordered  by  the  House 
of  Commons  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Admi- 
ralty for  the  purposes  of  his  trial.  With 
admirable  brevity  and  lucidity  his  two  coun- 
sel. Dr.  Oldish  and  Mr.  Lemmon,  had  ex- 
plained to  the  Court  that  these  papers  would 
constitute  his  defence,  inasmuch  as  the 
French  passes  would  clearly  show  that  his 
seizure  of  his  two  prizes  had  been  lawful, 

169 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

and  that  in  taking  them,  so  far  from  being 
a  pirate,  he  had  done  his  King  and  country 
service.  Their  plea  that  the  trial  should  be 
put  off  in  order  that  these  papers  might  be 
procured  had  been  allowed  as  reasonable; 
and  the  glibber  of  liis  two  counsel,  Mr.  Lem- 
mon,  had  apparently  satisfied  himself  that 
they  would  be  forthcoming;  for  he  had 
ended  by  jauntily  observing:  "  My  lord,  we 
will  be  ready  to-morrow  morning." 

What  happened  during  the  next  few 
hours  can  only  be  conjectured.  What  does 
seem  certain  is,  that  when  the  morning  came, 
neither  Dr.  Oldish  nor  Mr.  Lemmon  ap- 
peared on  Kidd's  behalf;  nor  had  the  French 
passes  and  other  papers  that  had  been  prom- 
ised, been  furnished  to  Kidd;  that  his  trial 
began  and  ended  without  their  production; 
and  that  not  one  of  the  judges  who  took 
part  in  it,  the  most  prominent  of  whom  was 
the  Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward,  who  had  been 
present  in  Court  the  day  before,  and  heard 
the  arguments  for  the  postponement  of  the 

170 


SUBSEQUENT    TRIALS 

trial,  made  any  comment  on  the  absence  of 
Kidd's  counsel,  or  asked  for  any  explana- 
tion from  the  Admiralty  officials  or  any  one 
else  for  the  non-production  of  the  passes, 
which  they  had  been  told  would  constitute 
Kidd's  defence.  Indeed,  as  will  be  seen,  the 
Lord  Chief  Baron  in  his  summing  up  went 
so  far  as  to  suggest  that  they  existed  only  in 
Kidd's  imagination. 

It  is  inconceivable  that  the  monstrous 
miscarriage  of  justice,  which  ensued,  was 
the  result  of  mere  accident,  negligence,  or 
stupidity.  It  was  clearly  the  duty  of  the 
officials  of  the  Admiralty,  in  whose  court 
Kidd  was  being  tried,  to  allow  him  access  to 
the  papers,  including  the  passes,  which  had 
been  delivered  to  them  by  the  order  of  the 
House  of  Comimons  for  that  purpose.  It 
was  clearly  the  duty  of  Kidd's  two  paid 
counsel  to  put  in  an  appearance  and  press 
for  a  further  postponement  of  the  trial,  until 
these  passes  had  been  produced,  instead  of 
leaving  him,  as  they  did,  in  the  lurch  to  con- 

171 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

duct  his  own  defence,  with  the  disastrous 
results  that  might  have  been  anticipated. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  avoid  the  suspicion  of 
foul  play  on  behalf  of  one  or  more  of  the 
great  personages  interested  in  the  case.  In 
this  connection  there  are  certain  facts  which 
it  is  impossible  to  ignore.  At  the  time  of  the 
trial,  impeachments  were  pending  in  Parlia- 
ment against  Or  ford,  the  late  First  Lord  of 
the  Admiralty,  and  Somers,  for  their  parti- 
cipation in  Kidd's  enterprise.  No  efforts  had 
been  spared  by  their  political  opponents  to 
induce  Kidd  to  make  damaging  disclosures 
against  them.  Thus  far  they  had  been  un- 
successful. Kidd  had  remained  faithful  to 
his  employers.  But  dead  men  tell  no  tales; 
and  neither  Orford  nor  Somers  could  have 
felt  any  security  against  untoward  disclo- 
sures on  his  part  so  long  as  he  remained  alive. 
Coming  to  the  last  of  the  very  significant 
close  coincidences  of  date  that  abound  in 
this  case,  we  find  that  Somers  deferred  put- 
ting in  his  reply  to  the  Articles  of  Impeach- 

172 


SUBSEQUENT    TRIALS 

merit  drawn  up  against  him  by  the  Commons 
until  the  day  after  Kidd's  execution.  In 
order  to  appease  pubHc  opinion  and  the 
East  India  Company,  some  scapegoat  was 
indispensable,  if  these  two  great  men  were 
to  be  allowed  to  go  scot  free.  Can  it  reason- 
ably be  doubted  that  it  was  this  considera- 
tion that  induced  the  officials  of  the  Admi- 
ralty to  keep  back  from  Kidd  and  from  the 
Court  the  two  French  passes  which  would 
have  been  his  salvation  and  which  had  been 
delivered  to  them  by  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, in  order  that  he  might  have  access  to 
them? 

The  report  of  his  trial  will  be  found  mel- 
ancholy reading  by  those  who  still  retain 
some  belief  in  the  impartiality  of  the  judges 
and  the  honesty  of  the  counsel  of  that  age. 
Three  of  the  latter,  the  Solicitor  General, 
the  advocate  of  the  Admiralty,  and  their 
junior  Mr.  Coniers,  with  their  trained  wits 
and  long  experience  in  criminal  cases,  were 
long  odds  for  poor  Kidd  and  his  compan- 

173 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ions  to  contend  against,  although  the  only 
evidence  produced  by  the  prosecution  con- 
sisted of  the  uncorroborated  testimony  of 
two  of  the  mutineers  who  had  deserted  their 
colours  at  Madagascar  and  joined  Culliford 
in  open  piracy.  These  men  had  evidently 
been  carefully  taken  by  the  attorneys 
through  every  incident  in  the  voyage  of  the 
Adventure  Galley,  which  lent  itself  to  in- 
genious misrepresentation,  tending  to  the 
discredit  of  Kidd  and  his  companions.  In 
some  instances  they  obviously  tried  to  mis- 
lead the  jury,  and  were  only  prevented 
from  doing  so  by  Kidd's  simple  questioning 
of  them.  Ignorant  of  the  rules  of  the  court 
he  tried  more  than  once  to  break  in  and  give 
his  own  version  whilst  they  were  giving 
theirs.  "  Hear  me,"  he  cried,  springing  up 
in  court  on  one  occasion;  but  was  promptly 
reduced  to  silence  by  the  reminder  that  when 
the  time  came,  he  could  question  the  wit- 
nesses. He  did  ask  them  some  very  perti- 
nent questions,  from  the  answers  to  which  it 

174 


SUBSEQUENT   TRIALS 

was  clear  that  they  had  wilfully  endeavoured 
to  deceive  the  Court.  But  he  was,  of  course, 
no  adept  in  the  art  of  systematic  and  per- 
sistent cross-examination.  As  time  went  on, 
and  it  became  evident  that  whenever  he 
asked  any  question  with  the  object  of  test- 
ing the  credibility  of  the  two  deserters,  he 
was  stopped  by  the  judge,  and  whenever 
their  evidence  was  in  conflict  with  his  state- 
ments or  those  of  any  of  Iiis  men,  it  was 
readily  believed,  he  not  unnaturally  became 
impatient,  and  after  a  while  gave  up  the 
hopeless  job  in  despair.  It  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  he  and  his  men  were  placed  at 
a  great  disadvantage  by  being  all  included 
in  the  same  indictment  for  piracy,  and  that 
consequently  not  one  of  them  could  be  called 
and  examined  as  a  witness  for  the  defence. 
Kidd  seems  to  have  felt  this  keenly.  On 
being  told  by  the  Junior  Counsel  for  the 
prosecution,  *'  Now,  if  you  will  ask  this  wit- 
ness any  question,  you  may,"  he  replied, 
"  What  signifies  it  to  ask  him  any  question? 

175 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN    KIDD 

We  have  no  witnesses,  and  what  we  say 
signifies  nothing."  At  last  in  reply  to  the 
Solicitor  General  whether  he  had  any  fur- 
ther questions  to  ask,  he  replied,  "  No,  no. 
So  long  as  he  swears  it,  our  words  or  oaths 
cannot  be  taken;  "  and  again,  "  It  signifies 
nothing  to  ask  an)^  questions.  A  couple  of 
rogues  will  swear  to  anything." 

The  Solicitor  General.  "  Will  you  ask 
any  further  questions?" 

KiDD.  "  No,  no,  I  will  not  trouble  the 
Court  any  more:  for  it  is  a  folly." 

It  might  have  been  thought  that  the  testi- 
mony given  by  such  unimpeachable  wit- 
nesses as  Colonel  Hewson,  CajDtain  Bond, 
Captain  Plumphreys,  and  Mr.  Cooper  of  the 
character  and  eminent  public  services  of 
Kidd  was  entitled  to  some  weight,  in  cases 
where  the  question  for  the  jury  to  decide 
was  the  relative  credibility  of  Kidd  and  such 
of  his  men  as  had  remained  faithful  to  him, 
and  that  of  the  two  mutineers  who  had  by 
their   own   confession    joined    Culliford   in 

176 


SUBSEQUENT    TRIALS 

open  piracy,  and  had  since  been  promised 
their  lives  if  they  would  take  Kidd's.  This, 
however,  was  clearly  not  the  view  of  the 
Lord  Chief  Baron.  Speaking  of  Kidd  in 
his  summing  up  he  said:  "  He  has  called 
some  persons  here  to  give  an  account  of  his 
reputation,  and  of  his  services  done  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  one  of  them  says  "  (as  a 
matter  of  fact  they  all  swore  to  it)  "  he  did 
good  service  there.  Well,  so  he  might  and 
might  have  "  (sic)  "  and  it  is  very  like  he 
had  such  reputation,  when  the  King  trusted 
him  with  these  commissions,  else  I  believe 
he  had  never  had  them,  so  that  (sic)  what- 
ever he  might  be  so  many  years  ago,  that  is 
not  a  matter  to  be  insisted  on  now,  but  what 
he  hath  done  since,  and  how  he  hath  acted  in 
this  matter  charged  against  him."  The 
Lord  Chief  Baron  evidently  had  no  belief 
in  the  doctrine  "  Nemo  re  pent  e  fuit  tur~ 
pissimus" 

Bradenham,  before  he  had  been  caught  by 
the  poHce  in  London,  had  been  seen  by  one 

177 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN   KIDD 

of  Kidd's  witnesses,  a  Mr.  Say,  at  the  Mar- 
shalsea.  This  witness,  on  being  told  by  a 
friend  that  Bradenham  had  been  Kidd's  sur- 
geon, had  observed:  "  There  is  a  mighty  noise 
about  Captain  Kidd,"  on  which  Bradenham 
admitted  that  he  had  been  with  Kidd  at 
Madagascar,  but  expressed  his  opinion  that 
Kidd  *'  had  done  nothing  but  what  he  could 
answer  for,  and  nothing  that  could  do  him 
any  hurt."  The  truthfulness  of  this  evi- 
dence was  not  questioned  by  the  prosecu- 
tion :  but  it  was  swept  aside  contemptuously 
by  the  Lord  Chief  Baron.  "  Mr.  Braden- 
ham," he  said,  "  was  with  him  there.  There 
is  no  doubt  of  that.  It  is  not  to  be  ques- 
tioned, that  he  would  not  say  anything  ill 
against  him  then."  In  other  words,  Brad- 
enham in  the  judge's  opinion,  was  a  witness 
whose  voluntary  evidence  on  an  ordinary 
occasion  was  worthless.  His  testimony 
could  only  become  of  value,  when  given  un- 
der compulsion,  with  the  object  of  saving 
his  own  life,  and  after  he  had  been  drilled 

178 


SUBSEQUENT    TRIALS 

to  cast  it  into  such  a  shape  that  it  would  in 
the   opinion   of  the  legal   advisers   of  the 
Crown,  imperil  the  life  of  another  man  of 
unimpeachable  antecedents,  whom  the  Gov- 
ernment desired  to  destroy.     It  is  to  be 
feared  that  such  views  of  the  value  of  King's 
evidence  were  by  no  means  rare  in  those 
days.    When  questioned  by  the  Judge,  why, 
if  he  thought  the  Quedagh  Merchant  was  a 
lawful  prize,  he  did  not  have  her  condemned, 
Kidd's   simple   answer   was   that   his   men 
would  not  allow  him  to  do  so.    As  a  matter 
of  fact  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  nearest 
Court  of  Admiralty  competent  to  condemn 
her,  when  his  men  mutinied.    "  My  lord,"  he 
said,  "  there  were  ninety-five  men  that  de- 
serted my  ship  and  took  away  what  they 
pleased.    We  could  not  stand  in  defence  of 
anything."  He  explained  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  sharing  of  the  goods  amongst 
his  men,  and  knew  nothing  of  it.     He  was 
never  near  them.    Questioned  as  to  his  com- 
ing  to   terms   with    Culliford,   he   replied, 

179 


THE   REAL   CAPTAIN    KIDD 

"  My  lord,  I  designed  to  take  that  frigate 
and  I  designed  to  come  to  England.  I  said 
let  us  take  this  ship,  and  did  they  not  all 
consult  and  say,  where  there  is  one  that  will 
fire  against  the  pirate  there  are  ten  that  will 
fire  against  you?  And  so  they  went  and 
took  the  goods  and  left  me." 

The  main  question  at  issue  was  not  how- 
ever whether  Kidd  had  been  justified  in  fail- 
ing to  keep  the  deserters  in  hand,  or  in 
coming  to  terms  with  Culliford,  after  they 
had  left  him,  but  whether  the  two  prizes 
which  he  had  taken  had  French  passes  on 
board  when  captured. 

This  was  fully  recognised  by  the  Lord 
Chief  Baron  who  in  his  summing  up  in  the 
case  of  the  Quedagh  Merchant  said:  "  Now 
this  is  the  great  case  before  you,  on  which 
the  indictment  turns.  The  ship  and  goods 
as  you  have  heard,  are  said  by  the  wit- 
nesses "  (i.  e.,  by  the  King's  evidence)  "  to 
be  the  goods  of  Armenians  and  other  people 
that  are  in  amity  with  the  King:  and  Cap- 

180 


SUBSEQUENT   TRIALS 

tain  Kidd  would  have  them  to  be  the  goods 
of  Frenchmen,  or  at  least  that  the  ship  was 
sailed  under  French  passes.  Now  if  it  were 
as  Captain  Kidd  says,  it  was  a  lawful  prize 
and  liable  to  confiscation:  but  if  they  were 
goods  of  persons  in  amity  with  the  King, 
and  the  ship  was  not  navigated  under  French 
passes,  it  is  very  plain  it  was  a  piratical  seiz- 
ing of  them." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  therefore  that  if 
Kidd  had  been  able  to  produce  the  passes 
in  court,  he  would  have  had  a  perfect  de- 
fence. Unfortunately  he  seems  to  have 
been  unaware  that  Bellamont  had  sent  them 
over  to  England.  His  case  was  that  he  had 
given  them  to  Bellamont,  and  he  believed 
that  Bellamont  was  keeping  them  back.  Be- 
ing unable  to  get  them,  or  to  have  his  trial 
postponed  until  they  could  be  obtained,  he 
tried  as  a  last  resource  to  get  Bradenham  and 
Palmer  to  admit  that  they  knew  of  their 
existence. 

Kidd    {to  Bradenham).    "Did  you  not 

181 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN   KIDD 

see  any  French  passes  aboard  the  Quedagh 
Merchant?  " 

Bradenham.  "  You  told  me  you  had 
French  passes.    I  never  did  see  them." 

KiDD.  "  Did  you  never  declare  this  to 
anybody  that  you  saw  the  French  passes? " 

Bradenham.  "  No,  I  never  did  see  any; 
but  I  only  said  I  heard  you  say  you  had 
them." 

KiDD  [to  Palmer).  "  I  ask  him  whether 
I  had  no  French  passes." 

Palmer.  "  Indeed,  Captain  Kidd,  I  can- 
not say.  I  did  hear  him  say  he  had  French 
passes,  but  I  never  saw  them.  I  have  heard 
Captain  Kidd  say  several  times  that  he  had 
French  passes." 

Kidd.  "  And  did  you  hear  nobody  else 
say  so?" 

Palmer.    "No." 

Kidd.  "  It  is  in  vain  to  ask  any  ques- 
tions." 

Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  "What  was 
that  pretence  of  a  French  pass  ? " 

182 


SUBSEQUENT   TRIALS 

Palmer.    "  I  saw  none." 

KiDD.    "But  you  have  heard  of  it." 

Palmee.  "  I  have  heard  of  it,  but  I  never 
saw  it." 

Unable  to  get  any  admissions  from  these 
two,  Kidd  called  another  witness,  Mr.  Davis. 

KiDD.  "  I  desire  Mr.  Davis  may  be  called 
—  Mr.  Davis,  pray  give  an  account,  whether 
you  did  not  see  a  French  pass." 

Davis.  "  I  came  a  passenger  from  Mad- 
agascar, and  from  thence  to  Amboyna" 
(evidently  a  clerical  error  for  Anguilla) 
"  and  there  he  sent  his  boat  ashore,  and  there 
was  one  said  Captain  Kidd  was  published  a 
pirate  in  England,  and  he  gave  him  those 
passes  to  read  —  the  Captain  said  they  were 
French." 

Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  "  Who  gave 
them?" 

Davis.    "  Captain  Kidd  gave  them." 

Kidd.  "  You  heard  Captain  Elms  say 
they  were  French  passes." 

Davis.    "Yes.     I  heard  Captain  Elms 

183 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

say  they  were  French  passes.  Says  he,  If 
you  will,  I  will  turn  them  into  Latin." 

Summing  up  this  evidence,  the  Lord 
Chief  Baron  said:  "  Gentlemen,  it  is  to  be 
considered  what  evidence  Captain  Kidd  hath 
given  to  prove  that  ship  and  goods  to  belong 
to  the  French  King  or  his  subjects,  or  that 
the  sliip  was  sailed  under  a  French  pass,  or 
indeed  that  there  ever  was  a  French  pass 
shown  or  seen.  He  appeals  to  the  witnesses 
over  and  over  again.  Did  you  never  see  it? 
No,  say  they.  Nor  did  not  you,  saith  he,  say 
you  saw  it.  No,  saith  the  witness.  I  said 
that  Captain  Kidd  said  he  had  a  French 
pass,  but  I  never  saw  it." 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  this  must  be  observed. 
If  this  was  a  capture  on  the  high  sea,  and 
these  were  the  goods  of  persons  in  amity 
with  the  King  and  had  no  French  pass,  then 
it  is  a  plain  piracy." 

"  Now  what  does  Captain  Kidd  say  to  all 
this?  He  has  told  you  he  acted  pursuant  to 
his  commission:  but  that  cannot  be,  unless 

184 


SUBSEQUENT    TRIALS 

he  gives  you  satisfaction  that  the  ship  and 
goods  belonged  to  the  French  King,  or  his 
subjects,  or  that  the  ship  had  a  French  pass. 
Otherwise  neither  of  them  (sic)  will  excuse 
hun  from  being  a  pirate;  for  if  he  takes  the 
goods  of  friends,  he  is  a  pirate:  he  had  no 
authority  for  that;  there  is  no  colour  from 
either  of  his  commissions  to  take  them.  And 
as  to  the  French  passes  there  is  nothing  of 
that  appears  by  any  proof;  and  for  aught  I 
can  see,  none  saw  them  but  himself,  if  there 
ever  were  any." 

Fortunately  for  Kidd's  memory,  these 
passes,  as  has  already  been  stated,  had  been 
made  Parliamentary  papers.  Verbatim 
copies  of  them  will  be  found  in  Appendix  C. 

The  Admiralty  may  well  look  back  with 
pride  to  some  of  the  performances  of  its  of- 
ficials, but  the  shameful  suppression  of  these 
passes  at  Kidd's  trial  is  not  one  of  them. 
Had  they  been  produced,  as  they  ought  un- 
doubtedly to  have  been  in  accordance  with 
the  order  of  the  House  of  Commons,  it 

185 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN   KIDD 

would  have  puzzled  even  the  Lord  Chief 
Baron  to  discover  an  excuse  for  directing  the 
jury  to  find  Kidd  and  such  of  his  crew  as 
had  remained  faithful  to  him  guilty  of 
piracy. 

Of  the  latter,  three,  Barlicorn,  Jenkins, 
and  Lumley,  apprentices  to  the  Captain,  the 
Mate  and  the  cook  were  acquitted  by  the 
jury.  Four  others,  Howe,  Churchill,  Mul- 
lins,  and  Owens,  the  cook,  pleaded  that  they 
had  surrendered  under  the  King's  Procla- 
mation, the  first  three  to  Colonel  Bass,  the 
Governor  of  East  Jersey,  and  the  fourth  to 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Southwark. 
There  is  no  question  but  that  these  men  had 
been  misled  by  this  proclamation  into  think- 
ing that  if  they  surrendered  as  they  did,  they 
would  have  a  free  pardon,  and  that  but  for 
being  so  misled  they  would  have  been  at 
large.  Three  of  them  had  been  in  gaol 
awaiting  their  trial  for  nearly  two  years. 
But  their  plea  was  disallowed  on  the  ground 
that  they  had  surrendered  to  the  wrong  per- 

186 


SUBSEQUENT   TRIALS 

sons.  The  proclamation  was  dated  the  eighth 
of  December,  1698.  It  had  been  sent  out  to 
St.  Marie's  on  board  of  Captain  Warren's 
squadron,  which  was  conducting  the  ambas- 
sador of  the  Great  Mogul  on  a  tour  to  the 
Eastern  seas  that  he  might  see  with  his  own 
eves  that  the  Government  was  at  last  mak- 
ing  a  serious  effort  to  suppress  the  Eastern 
piracy.  It  declared  the  King's  intent  to  be 
"  That  such  as  had  been  guilty  of  any  acts 
of  piracy  in  the  seas  East  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  might  have  notice  of  His  Most 
Gracious  Intention  of  extending  His  Most 
Royal  mercy  to  such  of  them  as  should  sur- 
render themselves,  and  to  cause  the  severest 
punishment  to  be  inflicted  upon  those  who 
should  continue  obdurate."  The  King's 
intent  seemed  therefore  plain,  that  he  would 
pardon  all  those  who  surrendered  them- 
selves. But  the  proclamation  "required 
and  commanded  all  persons  who  had  been 
guilty  of  any  act  of  piracy  in  any  place 
eastward  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  sur- 

187 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

render  themselves  to  the  four  commissioners 
named  in  it;  "  and  it  empowered  these  gen- 
tlemen only,  who  were  traveling  about  with 
the  Great  Mogul's  ambassador  and  were  not 
readily  accessible,  "  to  give  assurances  of  the 
King's  Most  Gracious  pardon  to  all  such 
as  should  surrender  themselves."  The 
Lord  Chief  Baron  held  that  the  pro- 
clamation must  be  construed  strictly. 
"  It  says,"  said  he,  "  they  must  surrender 
themselves  to  such  and  such  persons  by 
name.  See  if  it  be  not  so.  Here  are  several 
qualifications  mentioned.  You  must  bring 
yourselves  under  them,  if  you  would  have 
the  benefit  of  it." 

Mr.  MoxoN  (counsel  for  one  of  the  pris- 
oners) .  "  But,  my  lord,  consider  the  nature 
of  this  proclamation,  and  what  was  the  de- 
sign of  it,  which  was  to  induce  pirates  to 
come  in." 

Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  "  If  you 
would  have  the  benefit  of  it,  you  must  bring 
yourself  under  the  conditions  of  it.     Now, 

188 


SUBSEQUENT    TRIALS 

there  are  four  Commissioners  named  that 
you  ought  to  surrender  to.  But  you  have 
not  surrendered  to  any  one  of  these,  but  to 
Colonel  Bass,  and  there  is  no  such  man 
named  in  the  proclamation." 

The  consequence  of  this  decision  was  that 
all  four  of  the  men  who  had  surrendered 
under  the  proclamation  were  condemned 
to  death  along  with  Kidd,  and  their  com- 
rades, some  of  whom  when  it  became  clear 
that  they  would  be  condemned  were  desirous 
that  their  loyal  obedience  to  their  captain 
should  be  placed  on  record,  e.  g. : 

Gabriel  Loffe  (a  foremast  man  from 
New  York).  *'  I  have  nothing  to  say,  but 
to  ask  him  "  (Bradenham)  "  whether  I  did 
ever  disobey  my  captain's  commands,  or  was 
in  any  way  mutinous  on  board  the  ship." 

Bradenham.  "  No.  I  cannot  say  you 
did." 

Parrot  \the  Plymouth  boy) .  "  My  lord, 
I  desire  you  would  ask  the  witnesses, 
whether  I  ever  disobeyed  my  captain's  com- 

189 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

mands.  Mr.  Palmer,  did  you  ever  see  me 
guilty  of  an  ill  thing?  Did  I  ever  disobey 
my  captain? " 

Palmer.  "  You  were  always  obedient  to 
your  captain." 

MuLLiNs  (the  Irishman) .  "  Mr.  Braden- 
ham,  did  I  do  anything  against  my  cap- 
tain's commands?"  (It  is  to  be  feared  he 
did,  in  leaving  him.) 

Bradenham.  "  I  cannot  say,  but  that 
he  did  always  obey  the  Captain's  com- 
mands." 

MuLLiNS  (again J  this  time  to  Palmer). 
"  Did  not  Captain  Kidd  often  say  that  his 
commission  would  bear  him  out  in  what  he 
did?" 

Palmer.  "  Yes.  I  have  often  heard  him 
say  that." 

Judge  TuRTON.  "  But  how  came  you  to 
go  aboard  Culliford? " 

MuLLiNS.    "  For  want,  my  lord." 

LoFFE  (again).  "  My  lord,  I  was  a  serv- 
ant under  Captain  Kidd  and  always  obeyed 

190 


SUBSEQUENT    TRIALS 

his  commands,  and  had  no  share.  I  came 
home  with  Captain  Kidd  to  Boston,  and 
went  to  my  Lord  Bellamont." 

Howe.  "  Have  I  not  obeyed  my  captain 
in  all  his  commands? " 

Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  "  There  is 
no  doubt  made  about  that." 

Kidd  himself  on  being  asked  whether  he 
had  anything  more  to  say  replied,  *'  My 
lord,  I  had  many  papers  for  my  defence  if 
I  could  have  had  them." 

Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  "  What 
papers  were  they?" 

Kidd.    "  My  French  passes." 

Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  "  Where  are 
they?" 

Kidd.    *'  My  Lord  Bellamont  had  them." 

Lord  Chief  Baron  Ward.  "  If  you  had 
anything  of  disability  upon  you  to  make 
your  defence,  you  should  have  objected  it 
at  the  beginning  of  your  trial.  What  you 
mean  by  it  now,  I  cannot  tell." 

In  mercy  to  the  memory  of  this  wicked 

191 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

old  judge,  let  us  hope  that  this  obtuseness 
was  not  feigned,  and  that  he  had  really  for- 
gotten, though  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  he 
could  have  done  so,  Kidd's  impassioned  en- 
treaties at  the  beginning  of  his  trial  on  the 
preceding  day  for  the  production  of  these 
papers,  the  j^rotracted  discussion  wliich  took 
place  thereon  in  which  he  had  himself  taken 
part  and  the  undertaking  that  the  papers 
should  be  produced. 

When  the  jury  had  brought  in  their  ver- 
dict, Kidd,  asked  whether  he  had  anything  to 
say  for  himself  why  he  should  not  die  ac- 
cording to  the  law,  replied,  "  My  lord,  I 
have  nothing  to  say,  but  that  I  have  been 
sworn  against  by  perjured  and  wicked  peo- 
ple." After  sentence  had  been  pronounced, 
he  added,  "  My  lord,  it  is  a  very  hard  sen- 
tence. For  my  part,  I  am  the  innocentest 
person  of  them  all,  only  I  have  been  sworn 
against  by  perjured  persons.' 


192 


>> 


CHAPTER   SEVEN 


CHAPTER   VII 

KIDD^S   END 

KIDD'S  experience  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion and  the  procedure  of  our  English 
courts,  though  short,  had  been  painfully 
instructive.  After  his  return  to  Newgate, 
he  seems  to  have  had  no  more  to  do  with 
either  of  them.  But  he  had  yet  to  reckon 
with  his  political  and  religious  advisers,  who 
combined  to  beset  him  to  the  last. 

Bellamont's  apologist  says :  "  Dr.  G g 

knows  who  the  person  was,  who  was  with 
Kidd  more  than  once  some  few  days  before 
his  execution  and  dealt  so  freely  with  him 
as  to  advise  him  to  charge  two  lords  by  name 
with  somewhat  that  was  material,  which  he 
said  was  the  only  way  he  could  save  his  life. 
And  the  more  to  provoke  the  poor  wretch 

195 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

to  follow  his  advice,  swore  to  him  that  those 
lords  and  their  friends,  were  restless  in  so- 
liciting to  have  him  hanged,  and  therefore 
it  was  reasonable  for  him  to  do  their  busi- 
ness." "  God,"  he  adds,  "  disappointed  all 
these  cursed  designs.  Perhaps  the  unhappy 
creature  knew  himself  incapable  to  make  a 
probable  story,  or  to  carry  on  one  though 
made  to  his  hands,  and  that  deterred  him 
from  hearkening  to  these  counsels  of  devils. 
I  rather  hope  that  as  wicked  as  he  had  been, 
he  was  not  arrived  at  such  a  pitch,  as  to 
attempt  to  take  away  other  men's  lives  and 
honour  by  deliberate  perjuries." 

It  never  seems  to  have  occurred  to  this 
gentleman,  or  indeed  to  any  one  else,  during 
Kidd's  last  days,  that  he  was  innocent  of  the 
crimes  laid  to  his  charge,  and  that  he  was  not 
likely  to  go  back  on  his  word.  Not  only  in 
his  statements  with  respect  to  his  employers, 
but  also  in  his  simple  written  narrative  to 
Bellamont  and  in  the  oral  evidence  given 
at  his  trial  of  the  various  incidents  in  his 

196 


KIDD'S   END 

voyage  he  had  told  a  plain  unvarnished  tale, 
from  which  he  had  never  deviated.  So  far 
as  his  dealings  with  his  employers  were  con- 
cerned he  had  sworn  in  his  examinations  be- 
fore the  Admiralty  and  also  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  that  he  had  never  seen  Somers  or 
Shrewsbury,  or  heard  more  of  them,  than 
that  Bellamont  had  told  him  they  were  two 
of  the  owners  of  the  Adventure  Galley;  that 
Bellamont  had  introduced  him  to  Or  ford  and 
that  Colonel  Hewson  had  carried  him  to 
Romney  in  his  coach  which  was  all  that  he 
knew  of  them.  He  had  been  recalled  and 
pressed  to  make  some  further  disclosure  with 
regard  to  these  great  personages,  and  asked 
categorically  if  he  knew  anything  in  rela- 
tion to  Bellamont,  Romney,  Shrewsbury, 
Somers,  or  Orford,  or  any  of  the  other 
owners,  in  relation  to  his  expedition,  or  any 
other  matter,  touching  any  private  direc- 
tions, articles  or  instructions,  given  to  him 
by  word  of  mouth  or  otherwise.  And  after 
taking  time  "  to  recollect  himself  well,"  he 

197 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

had  affirmed  that  "  he  had  nothing  more  to 
say  in  relation  to  the  owners  than  that  he  had 
before  declared."    It  may  safely  be  assumed 

that  his  answer  to  Dr.  G g's  mysterious 

friend,  whoever  he  may  have  been,  was  to 
the  same  effect. 

It  remained  now  for  him  to  midergo  that 
last  trial  of  his  patience,  to  which  all  con- 
demned prisoners  had  in  those  days  to  sub- 
mit, the  well-meant  attempts  on  the  part 
of  the  Chaplain  of  the  gaol  to  extort  from 
them  confessions  of  their  guilt.  If  Kidd 
had  yielded  to  this  cruel  pressure,  he  woidd 
have  left  this  world  with  a  lie  upon  his  lips, 
as  it  is  to  be  feared  many  poor  creatures 
did  before  and  after  him.  Witness  the  con- 
fessions of  some  of  those  convicted  of 
witchcraft.  It  is  no  small  confirmation  of 
his  innocence  that  he  was  able  to  emerge 
even  from  this  trying  ordeal  without  dis- 
credit to  his  veracity. 

The  Ordinary  of  Newgate  at  that  time 
was  the  Rev.  Paul  Lorrain,  well  known  in 

198 


KIDD'S    END 

his  day  as  the  author  of  innumerable  "  Last 
Dying  Speeches  and  Confessions  "  of  noted 
criminals,  who  seems  to  have  combined  with 
the  more  serious  duties  of  his  calling  as 
confessor  to  the  doomed  the  somewhat  in- 
congruous functions  discharged  in  these  lat- 
ter days  by  enterprising  press  interviewers 
of  celebrities  in  whose  personal  peculiarities 
and  proclivities  the  reading  public  may  be 
supposed  to  take  an  interest.  He  can 
rarely,  if  ever,  have  had  more  promising 
subjects  for  his  professional  treatment,  or 
men  of  whose  last  days  his  account  was 
likely  to  have  a  wider  circulation,  than  Kidd 
and  his  fellow  sufferers. 

There  are  two  extant  records  of  the  "  Be- 
haviour, Confessions  and  Last  Dying 
Words  of  Kidd  and  the  other  Pirates  that 
were  Executed  with  Him."  Both  were  pub- 
lished by  the  same  printer,  E.  Mallet  at 
the  Hat  and  Hawk  in  Bride  Lane.  One  of 
these  accounts  is  signed  by  Lorrain  on  the 
day  of  the  execution,  and  concludes  with 

199 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

these  words:  "  This  is  all  the  account,  which 
(in  this  hurry)  can  be  given  of  these  persons 
by  Paul  Lorrain.  Friday,  May  the  23rd 
1701."  It  is  clear  from  internal  evidence 
that  the  earlier  part  of  this  account  had  been 
carefully  composed  before  the  day  of  execu- 
tion, and  that  it  was  only  the  concluding  por- 
tion of  it  which  was  hurriedly  written  on  that 
day.  No  inconsiderable  part  of  the  earlier 
paragraphs  is  devoted  to  the  texts  and  heads 
pf  the  discourses  delivered  by  the  Or- 
dinary to  the  prisoners,  on  the  two  preced- 
ing Sundays  when  they  had  had  the 
privilege  of  listening  to  him.  These,  admi- 
rable as  they  may  be,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
reproduce  in  the  present  narrative.  From 
the  remainder  of  this  account  it  appears  that 
Lorrain  on  the  day  after  their  trial  visited 
the  prisoners,  and  "  did  pray  with  them  and 
admonish  them  to  self  examination  and  re- 
pentance," that  during  his  whole  attendance 
on  them,  which  was  "  every  day,  both  fore- 
noon and  afternoon  "  until  the  day  of  exe- 

200 


KIDD'S    END  "" 

cution,  he  "pressed  upon  them  the  acts  of 
faith  and  repentance,  exhorting  them  to  con- 
fess their  crimes."  "  I  at  last,"  he  says, 
"  prevailed  on  them  to  uncover  and  own 
those  crimes  which  they  had  before  so  indus- 
triously endeavoured  to  hide  or  excuse,  par- 
ticularly Captain  Kidd,  who  vainly  flatter- 
ing himself  with  hopes  of  a  reprieve,  deferred 
his  confession  so  long  that  there  was  hardly 
any  time  left  for  taking  it  in  any  exactness 
or  order."  (It  is  clear  from  the  latter  part 
of  his  account  that  Kidd  never  confessed  to 
any  of  the  crimes  of  which  he  had  been  con- 
victed.) "Darby  Mullins,  one  of  the  con- 
demned pirates  was  of  all  the  rest  the  most 
ready  and  free  to  open  himself  to  me:  and 
therefore  I  shall  begin  with  his  confession." 
Let  us  see  what  the  free  and  open  con- 
fession of  this  poor  man  amounted  to 
and  what  were  the  heinous  crimes,  which  he 
had  so  industriously  endeavoured  to  hide  or 
excuse. 

"  I.   Darby  Mullins,  about  40  years  old, 

201 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

born  in  Ireland  hard  by  Mullingfelt,  about 
16  miles  from  Londonderry.  He  said  he 
lived  in  his  own  country  and  with  his  parents 
and  followed  the  plough,  while  he  was  young, 
but  being  kidnapped  he  was  carried  away 
into  the  West  Indies,  where  he  sei'ved  a 
planter  for  the  space  of  four  years.  After- 
wards he  turned  a  waterman,  and  followed 
several  other  employments  in  and  about 
Jamaica.  And  when  the  earthquake  hap- 
pened there  he  was  miraculously  preserved, 
yet  took  no  great  notice  of  his  deliverance, 
so  as  to  be  thankful  (as  he  ought)  to  God 
for  it,  wiiich  is  now  matter  of  trouble  and 
grief  to  him.  After  this  earthquake  he  went 
to  Kingston,  a  town  in  these  parts,  and  there 
he  built  liimself  a  house  and  sold  liquors, 
etc.  Then  he  came  to  New  York,  with  his 
family  in  the  Chanty,  Captain  Sims  com- 
mander, and  continued  there  two  years.  At 
the  end  of  which  he  took  his  passage  on 
board  Captain  Slade  to  the  IMadeiras,  where 
he  stayed  but  three  weeks  and  then  returned 

202 


KIDD'S    END 

to  New  York;  and  some  time  after  having 
bury'd  his  wife  there,  he  was  not  able  any 
longer  to  keep  house;  but  apply'd  himself 
to  carrying  and  fetching  wood  from  place  to 
place  in  a  boat  of  his  own,  about  20  tons. 
Then  he  left  off  this  employment  and  en- 
gaged himself  with  Captain  Kidd  and  after- 
wards with  Captain  CuUiford,  not  knowing 
but  that  it  was  very  lawful  (as  he  said  he  was 
told)  to  plunder  the  enemies  of  Christian- 
ity. But  now  he  being  shew'd  that  those 
were  the  greatest  enemies  to  Christ  and  his 
religion,  who  did  such  unaccountable  things, 
as  he  and  his  companions  did,  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  Christianity,  which  they  profess, 
he  said  he  heartily  begged  pardon  of  God 
and  the  world  for  it,  and  wished  he  had  not 
been  such  an  offender.  He  confessed  he  had 
been  a  great  sinner  in  that  he  had  not  served 
God  as  he  should  have  done,  but  far  from 
that  had  of  late  very  much  given  himself  up 
to  swearing,  cursing  and  profaning  the  Sab- 
bath Day,  which  had  deservedly  brought  this 

203 


■V 


/  THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

calamity  upon  him.  He  seemed  to  be  very 
penitent  of  the  facts,  for  which  he  was  justly 
condemned,  and  prayed  to  God  to  forgive 
both  these  and  the  other  errors  and  miscar- 
riages of  his  iDast  life.  He  was  a  poor  un- 
learned person,  not  very  much  acquainted 
with  the  principles  of  religion.  Yet  he 
was  very  willing  to  be  directed  and  ex- 
press'd  great  hopes  that  through  the  merits 
of  Christ  he  should  find  mercy  and  salva- 
tion." 

"  II.  Captain  William  Kiddy  condemned 
for  murder  and  piracy.  He  was  about  56 
years  of  age.  I  found  him  very  unwilling 
to  confess  the  crime  he  was  convicted  of,  or 
to  declare  anything,  other  than  that  he  had 
been  a  great  offender,  and  lived  without  any 
due  consideration  either  of  God's  mercys  or 
judgments,  or  of  his  wonderful  works  which 
had  so  often  been  set  before  him.  That  he  " 
(like  Mullins)  *'  never  remembered  to  have 
returned  Him  thanks  for  the  many  great  de- 
liverances he  had  received  from  him,  or  call'd 

204 


KIDD'S    END 

himself  to  account  for  what  he  had  done. 
But  now  he  owns  that  God  is  a  just  God, 
and  he  is  a  vile  and  wretched  sinner.  He 
says  he  repents  of  all  his  sins  and  hopes  to 
be  saved  through  the  merits  of  Christ.  He 
further  declares  that  he  dies  in  charity  with 
all  the  world."  So  far,  it  is  clear,  he  had 
made  no  confession  either  of  murder  or 
piracy. 

"  On  the  day  being  the  day  of  execution, 
I  went  betimes  to  these  condemned  persons, 
and  had  them  up  to  the  Chappel  both  morn- 
ing and  afternoon,  where  having  given  them 
further  admonitions  to  Faith  and  Repen- 
tance, they  seemed  to  me  very  desirous  and 
earnestly  striving  to  die  in  God's  favour. 
Only  I  was  afraid  the  hardness  of  Cap- 
tain Kidd's  heart  was  still  unmelted.  I 
therefore  apply'd  myself  with  particular 
exhortations  to  him"  ('the  innocentest 
person  of  them  all,'  to  quote  his  own 
words)  "  and  laid  the  judgment  of  God 
against  impenitent  and  hardened  sinners,  as 

205 


\> 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN   KIDD 

well  as  his  tender  mercies  to  those  that  were 
true  and  sincere  penitents,  very  plainly  be- 
fore him.  To  all  which  he  readily  assented 
and  said  that  he  truly  repented  of  all  his 
sins,  and  forgave  all  the  world:  and  I  was 
in  good  hopes  that  he  did  so.  But  having 
left  him  to  go  a  little  before  him  to  the  place 
of  execution,  I  found  to  my  unspeakable 
grief,  when  he  was  brought  thither,  that  he 
was  inflamed  with  drink,"  (Some  kind  fel- 
low countryman  had  possibly  given  the  poor 
old  man  a  wee  drappie  of  which  he  must 
have  stood  sorely  in  need,  after  all  these  ex- 
hausting religious  exercises  and  his  confine- 
ment for  over  a  year  in  Newgate),  "which 
had  so  discompos'd  his  mind  that  it  was  now 
in  a  very  ill  frame,  and  very  unfit  for  the 
great  work  now  or  never  to  be  perform'd  by 
him.  I  prayed  for  him,  and  so  did  other 
worthy  divines  that  were  present,  to  whom 
as  well  as  to  myself  the  Captain  appeared 
to  be  much  out  of  order,  and  not  so  con- 
cerned or  affected  as  he  ought  to  have  been. 

206 


KIDD'S    END 

'Tis  true  he  spoke  some  words  expressing 
his  confidence  in  God's  mercys  through 
Christ,  and  hkewise  declared  that  he  died  in 
Charity  with  all  the  world.  But  still  I  sus- 
pected his  sincerity  "  (Why?)  "  because  he 
was  more  reflective  upon  others  than  u^^on 
himself  "  (as  he  might  well  be)  "  and  would 
still  endeavour  to  lay  his  faults  upon  his 
crew  and  others,  going  about  to  excuse  and 
justify  himself  much  about  the  same  man- 
ner, as  he  did  upon  his  trial.  When  I  left 
him  at  Newgate  he  told  me  he  would  make 
a  full  confession  at  the  tree,"  (so  he  did, 
of  everything  he  had  to  confess)  "  but  in- 
stead of  that  he  was  unwilling  (contrary  to 
my  expectation)  to  own  the  justice  of  his 
condemnation  or  so  much  as  the  providence  of 
God,  who  for  his  sins  had  deservedly  brought 
him  to  this  untimely  end.  I  continued  to 
pray  for  him  and  the  rest,  who  (to  outward 
appearance)  were  very  humble  and  peni- 
tent, particularly  Darby  Mullins,  who  per- 
sisted in  asserting  what  he  had  told  me  be- 

207 


THE    REAL   CAPTAIN   KIDD 

fore  and  said  it  was  the  truth  and  he  had 
nothing  to  add  to  or  diminish  from  it.  This 
being  done  and  the  Captain  having  warned 
all  mariners  of  ships  and  others  to  have  a 
care  of  themselves,  and  take  warning  from 
him  "  (the  words  of  his  warning  were  very 
significant  as  will  be  seen  below)  "  I  then 
sang  with  them  a  Penitential  Psalm,  and 
after  another  short  prayer,  recommending 
them  to  God,  I  parted  with  them  and  left 
them  to  the  Divine  Mercy.  And  then  they 
were  turned  off." 

"  But  here  I  must  take  notice  of  a  re- 
markable (and  I  hope  a  most  lucky)  acci- 
dent which  then  did  happen," (it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  reverend  gentleman 
would  have  considered  it  so  lucky  if  it  had 
befallen  himself)  "  which  was  this,  that  the 
rope  by  which  Captain  Kidd  was  ty'd  broke, 
and  so  falling  to  the  ground  he  was  taken 
up  alive,  and  by  this  means  had  opportunity 
to  consider  more  of  that  Eternity  he  was 
launching  into.     When  he  was  brought  up 

208 


KIDD'S    END 

and  ty'd  again  to  the  tree,  I  desired  leave 
to  go  to  him  again,  which  was  granted. 
Then  I  showed  him  the  great  mercy  of  God 
in  giving  him  unexpectedly  this  further  res- 
pite, that  so  he  might  improve  the  few  mo- 
ments left  now  so  mercifully  allowed  him  in 
perfecting  his  Faith  and  Repentance.  Now 
I  found  him  in  much  better  temper  than  be- 
fore. But  as  I  was  unwilling,  and  the  sta- 
tion also  very  incommodious  and  improper 
for  me  to  offer  anything  to  him  by  way  of 
question,  that  might  have  perhaps  discom- 
posed his  spirit,  so  I  contented  myself  to 
press  him  to  embrace  (before  it  was  too 
late)  the  Mercy  of  God  now  again  offered 
him  upon  the  easy  conditions  of  Stedf ast 
Faith,  True  Repentance  and  Perfect  Char- 
ity, which  now  he  did  so  fully  and  freely  ex- 
press, that  I  hope  he  was  hearty  and  sincere 
in  it,  declaring  openly  that  he  repented  with 
all  his  heart,  and  dy'd  in  Christian  Love  and 
Charity  with  all  the  world  "  (as  he  had  re- 
peatedly said  before) .    "  This  he  said,  as  he 

209 


THE    REAL    CAPTAI^^    KIDD 

was  on  the  top  of  the  ladder  (the  scaffold 
being  now  broken  down)  and  myself  half- 
way on  it,  as  close  to  him  as  I  could,  who 
having  for  the  last  time  prayed  with  him, 
left  him  with  a  greater  satisfaction  than  I  had 
before,  that  he  was  penitent." 

From  the  later  account  above  referred  to 
which  purports  to  be  "  The  only  True  Ac- 
count of  the  Dying  Speeches  of  the  Con- 
demned Pirates,"  and  is  possibly  a  revised 
edition  of  the  earlier  account  by  Paul  Lor- 
rain,  we  learn  that  "  all  the  prisoners  were 
conveyed  from  Newgate  to  the  execution 
dock  in  Wapping  by  the  officers  of  the  Ad- 
miralty and  others,  carrying  the  Silver  Oar 
before  them  according  to  the  usual  custom:  " 
that  Kidd's  "  behaviour  in  Newgate  after 
condemnation  was  not  so  serious  and  devout 
as  became  a  person  under  his  circumstances, 
but  whether  it  proceeded  from  an  heroick 
temper  in  not  seeming  to  be  in  any  way  ter- 
rified or  afraid  on  the  approaches  of  death 
(tho'  in  a  violent  manner)   he  being  natu- 

210 


KIDD'S    END 

rally  of  an  undaunted  mind  and  resolution, 
or  from  a  conceited  hope  of  obtaining  a  re- 
prieve, there  being  great  endeavours  tho'  in 
vain  used  for  that  purpose,  is  yet  unknown." 
The  author  of  this  account  also  informs 
us  that  Kidd  "  could  hardly  be  brought  to  a 
charitable  reconciliation  with  those  persons, 
who  were  evidences  against  him  alleging 
that  they  deposed  many  things  that  were  in- 
consistent with  truth  and  that  much  of  their 
evidence  was  by  hearsay:  and  in  the  general 
part  of  his  discourse  seemed  not  only  to  re- 
flect on  them  but  on  several  others^  who  in- 
stead of  being  his  friends  as  they  professed^ 
had  traitorously  been  instrumental  in  his 
ruin! "  "  He  further  declared  that  as  to 
the  death  of  William  Moore,  his  gunner, 
the  blow  that  he  gave  him,  it  was  in  a  passion, 
as  being  provoked  by  him  to  do  so,  but  not 
with  an  intention  of  any  manifest  injury, 
much  less  to  kill  or  murder  him.  Nay,  he 
was  so  far  from  bearing  any  mahce  against 
him,  that  he  freely  gave  £200  for  his  ran- 

211 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

som,  and  further  said  that  all  his  sailors 
knew  he  always  had  a  great  love  and  respect 
for  him;  adding  that  if  any  one  concerned 
in  his  tryal  had  acted  contrary  to  the  dic- 
tates of  his  or  their  own  conscience  he  heart- 
ily forgave  them,  and  desired  that  God 
would  do  the  like."  "  He  expressed  abun- 
dance of  sorrow  for  leaving  his  wife  and 
children  without  having  the  opportunity  of 
taking  leave  of  them,  they  being  inhabi- 
tants in  New  York.  So  that  the  thoughts 
of  his  wife's  sorrow  at  the  sad  tidings  of  his 
shameful  death  was  more  occasion  of  grief 
to  him  than  that  of  his  own  sad  misfor- 
tunes." "  He  desired  all  seamen  in  general, 
more  especially  Captains  in  particular  to 
take  warning  hy  his  dismal  unhappiness 
and  shameful  death  and  that  they  would 
avoid  the  means  and  occasions  that  brought 
him  thereto,  and  also  that  they  would  act 
with  more  caution  and  prudence,  both  in 
their  jmvate  and  public  affairs  by  sea  and 
land,  adding  that  this  was  a  very  ficJde  and 

212 


KIDD'S    END 

faithless  generation."  (He  had  undoubtedly 
found  it  so.)  "  After  he  had  ended  his  dis- 
course to  the  people,  he  spent  the  rest  of 
his  time  in  Prayer  and  other  pious  and 
Godly  exercises  with  the  Ordinary  of  New- 
gate and  other  ministers :  and  at  last  seemed 
very  devout  and  penitent,  expressing  his 
hearty  sorrow  for  his  manifest  transgres- 
sions, especially  the  unhappy  and  sudden 
death  of  William  Moore  his  gunner  —  but 
would  not  call  it  murder  to  the  very  last, 
esteeming  it  rather  an  accidental  misfortune 
than  a  murder  by  reason  that  there  was  but 
one  blow  given  and  that  in  passion  without 
any  premeditated  malice." 

No  reference  is  made  in  this  account  to 
Kidd's  being  "  inflamed  with  drink."  It  is 
clear  from  it  that  whether  or  not  he  had 
been  given  a  drop  of  whiskey  on  his  way  to 
execution,  he  was  to  the  end  in  the  full  pos- 
session of  his  faculties. 

The  only  member  of  his  crew  who  was 
hung  with  him  was  poor  Darby  Mullins, 

213 


THE    REAL    C2VPTAIN    KIDD 

the  remainder  being  at  the  last  moment  re- 
prieved. Why  MuUins,  who  had  surren- 
dered himself  to  the  Governor  of  East 
Jersey  along  with  two  others,  relying  on 
the  King's  proclamation,  was  selected  as 
Kidd's  fellow-sufferer,  is  not  clear.  It  is 
true  that  he  was  an  Irishman,  and  in  the 
opinion  of  the  chaplain  in  a  better  frame  of 
mind  to  meet  his  death  than  any  of  his  com- 
j^anions:  but  neither  of  these  circumstances 
in  itself  seems  quite  a  satisfactory  justifica- 
tion for  hanging  him.  He  had  no  doubt 
joined  CuUiford,  unquestionably  by  far  the 
most  guilty  of  all  the  seamen  implicated, 
but  for  whose  j^resence  at  IMadagascar, 
when  the  Adventure  Galley  arrived  there, 
Kidd  in  all  probability  would  have  been  able 
to  bring  his  prizes  home  before  the  hue  and 
cry  had  been  raised  against  him.  But  Cul- 
liford,  though  indicted  for  several  i^iracies 
about  the  same  time  as  Kidd,  apparently 
escaped  scot  free,  having  been  clever  enough 
to  save  his  neck  by  surrendering  to  the  right 

214 


KIDD'S    END 

persons  under  the  King's  proclamation,  and 
to  secure  the  services  of  a  counsel  who  did 
not  fail  to  put  in  an  appearance  on  his  be- 
half, when  his  case  came  on  for  hearing; 
the  result  of  which  was  that  "  his  case  "  (ac- 
cording to  a  note  in  the  State  Trials)  "  be- 
ing particular  and  argued  by  Counsel  he 
was  respited." 

To  come  now  to  the  last  painful  incident 
in  this  disgraceful  tragedy.  The  day  after 
Kidd's  corpse  had  been  hung  aloft  in  chains 
on  the  gallows,  Somers  dared  at  last  to 
break  the  silence  he  had  so  long  maintained 
and  to  put  in  his  reply  to  the  Ai'ticles  of 
Impeacliment  brought  against  him  by  the 
Commons.  The  allegations  he  had  to  meet 
were  that  in  the  grant  of  the  goods  of  the 
pirates  to  the  co-adventurers,  the  name  of 
Samuel  Newton,  one  of  the  Grantees,  had 
been  "  used  in  trust  and  for  the  sole  bene- 
fit of  "  himself:  that  "  the  grant  manifestly 
tended  to  the  obstruction  of  trade  and  navi- 
gation, the  great  loss  and  prejudice  of  mer- 

215 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

chants  and  others,  His  Majesty's  subjects, 
and  the  dishonour  of  the  King  and  his  King- 
dom: "  and  that  "  by  procuring  and  passing 
it,"  he  had  been  guilty  of  a  notorious  breach 
of  his  duty.  In  his  reply  he  was  forced  to 
admit  that  Newton  had  been  named  in  the 
grant,  "  by  and  in  trust  for  him,"  and  was 
apparently  unable  to  give  any  excuse  what- 
ever for  this  discreditable  deception.  He 
pleaded  that  the  grant  "  did  not  in  any  way 
tend  to  the  obstruction  or  discouragement  of 
trade  or  navigation,  or  to  the  loss  or  preju- 
dice of  His  Majesty's  subjects,  nor  to  the 
dishonour  of  His  Majesty  or  His  King- 
dom." He  denied  (and  the  denial  im- 
plied what  would  be  considered  in  these  days 
a  very  low  estimate  of  official  honesty)  that 
the  passing  of  the  grant  was  any  breach  of 
duty,  inasmuch  as  it  "  was  formed  as  a 
recompense  to  the  grantees,  who  at  their 
own  charge  had  provided  and  fitted  out  the 
said  Ship  "  (the  Adventure  Galley)  to  en- 
able Kidd  "  to  execute  the  powers  in  the 

216 


KIDD'S    END 

said  grant  mentioned,  whereby  the  public 
might  have  received  great  benefit  had  the 
said  William  Kidd  faithfully  discharged  the 
trust  reposed  in  him  by  His  Majesty  and 
the  Grantees,  which  he  failing  to  do,  the 
owners  of  the  said  ship  had  lost  their  ex- 
penses, and  had  not  received  any  benefit 
from  the  grant." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether  any  of  the  grantees,  ex- 
cepting Kidd  and  Livingstone,  lost  any  part 
of  their  expenses.  As  has  already  been^ 
shown,  one  of  the  conditions  on  which  their 
legal  advisers  had  been  careful  to  insist  had 
been  that  if  the  prize  moneys  were  insuffi- 
cient to  make  good  the  full  amount  ad- 
vanced by  the  grantees,  other  than  Kidd  and 
Livingstone,  the  deficiency  was  to  be  made 
good  by  Kidd  and  Livingstone,  both  of 
them  men  of  substance.  We  have  seen  with 
what  eagerness,  and  with  what  disastrous 
results  to  Kidd,  Livingstone  had  endeav- 
oured to  get  his  bond  restored  to  him  by 

217 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Bellamont.  That  Kidd's  estate  of  itself, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  unable 
in  Newgate  to  get  funds  for  his  defence 
until  the  night  before  his  trial,  was  suffi- 
cient to  have  covered  any  loss  sustained  by 
the  great  men,  who  had  exploited  him,  is 
clear  from  the  fact  that  of  his  effects  for- 
feited to  the  Crown,  six  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy-one  pounds  were  after- 
wards given  by  Queen  Anne  towards  the 
establishment  of  Greenwich  hospital.^  But 
whether  or  not  these  great  men  found  it  in- 
convenient to  reclaim  their  one  thousand 
pounds  apiece,  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that 
when  making  this  cruelly  unjust  charge  of 
faithlessness  against  Kidd  the  day  after  his 
death,  Somers  was  fully  acquainted  with 
the  essential  facts  of  the  case.  It  is  incredi- 
ble that  he  had  not  read  Kidd's  narrative, 
the  depositions  of  his  men,  and  Bellamont's 
correspondence,  and  that  he  was  not  cog- 

*  See  Lyson's  "Environs  of  London,"  Vol.  IV,  page 
448. 

218 


KIDD'S   END 

nizant  of  all  the  proceedings  at  Kidd's  trial, 
the  keeping  back  of  the  French  passes  by 
the  Admiralty  officials :  the  failure  of  Kidd's 
counsel  to  put  in  an  appearance  on  the 
critical  day  when  he  was  tried  for  piracy; 
the  break-down  of  the  most  material  parts 
of  the  King's  e^adence;  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  trials  had  been  conducted  through- 
out by  the  Lord  Chief  Baron.  It  is  to  be 
feared  that  he  not  only  knew  all  this,  but 
that  his  was  the  unseen  master  hand  that 
had  held  the  strings,  which  had  been  so  skil- 
fully and  ruthlessly  manipulated  as  to  bring 
about  Kidd's  death  so  opportunely  by  the 
verdicts  of  London  juries.  If  this  be  so, 
what  is  to  be  said  of  the  Whig  historians, 
who  have  dealt  with  Kidd's  case?  Is  it  pos- 
sible to  beheve  in  the  face  of  indisputably 
recorded  facts,  that  Somers  really  was  the 
immaculate  politician  of  his  day  depicted 
for  us  by  Macaulay,  "  whose  integrity,"  we 
have  heen  assured,  "  was  ever  certain  to 
come  forth  bright  and  pure  from  the  most 

219 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

severe  investigation "  ?  In  the  foregoing 
pages  an  attempt  has  been  made,  it  is  be- 
lieved for  the  first  time,  to  allow  the  per- 
sonages who  took  part  in  this  melancholy 
business  to  speak  for  themselves,  so  far  as 
the  extant  records  permit.  Hitherto  by  a 
conspiracy  of  silence,  their  voices  have  been 
hushed,  and  the  facts  of  the  case  studiously 
suppressed  or  perverted  by  eminent  advo- 
cates, who  have  thought  it  necessary,  if  the 
memories  of  Somers  and  his  colleagues  were 
to  be  cleansed  from  the  stigma  which  clung 
to  them  in  their  own  day  from  the  part 
they  took  in  it,  that  Kidd's  reputation 
should  be  blackened,  and  that  he  should  be 
depicted  as  a  villain  of  the  deepest  dye, 
whom,  on  account  of  his  unexceptionable 
antecedents,  these  great  men  were  fully  jus- 
tified in  employing,  but  whose  character  un- 
derwent so  rapid  a  deterioration  after  he 
had  once  come  into  contact  with  them,  that 
he  betraj^ed  them  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
riching liimself  with  spoils,  of  which  as  a 

220 


KIDD'S   END 

matter  of  fact  he  stood  in  little  need  and 
which  he  made  no  effort  to  secure  for  him- 
self. He  has  been  represented  by  Macaulay 
not  only  as  a  rapacious  pirate,  but  also  as 
a  monster  of  cruelty,  who  for  his  own  ends 
depraved  his  crew  and  led  them  into  every 
kind  of  wickedness.  To  quote  but  one  pas- 
sage from  Macaulay's  indefensible  and  inex- 
cusable travesty,  "  With  the  rapacity  he  had 
the  cruelty  of  his  odious  calling.  He  burnt 
houses:  he  massacred  peasantry.  His  pris- 
oners were  tied  up  and  beaten  with  naked 
cutlasses,  in  order  to  obtain  information 
about  their  concealed  hoards.  One  of  his 
crew,  whom  he  had  called  a  dog,  was  pro- 
voked into  exclaiming  in  an  agony  of  re- 
morse, '  Yes,  I  am  a  dog:  but  it  is  you  that 
have  made  me  so.'  Kidd  in  a  fury  struck 
the  man  dead." 

These  accusations  have  obtained  ready 
credence;  but  their  absurdity  will  be  evi- 
dent to  any  one  who  will  take  the  pains  to 
examine  the  records.     There  is  no  reason 

221 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

whatever  for  believing  that  Kidd  was  cruel 
or  rapacious.  The  only  ground  for  suggest- 
ing that  "  he  massacred  peasantry  "  is  the 
one  case,  when  his  cooper's  throat  having 
been  cut  by  the  natives,  he  retaliated  by 
ordering  one  native  to  be  shot.  This  was 
the  only  time  when  it  was  ever  alleged  in 
his  own  day  that  he  had  burnt  houses:  and 
we  have  it  on  the  authority  of  Palmer,  the 
King's  evidence  against  him,  that  on  this 
occasion  Kidd  had  given  express  orders  to 
his  men  to  spare  the  houses  that  had  white 
flags  hoisted  on  them,  because  their  inmates 
had  helped  to  water  his  ship.  The  episode 
on  the  strength  of  which  Macaulay  accuses 
him  of  causing  his  prisoners  to  be  beaten  with 
cutlasses,  in  order  to  extort  from  them  in- 
formation as  to  their  concealed  hoards,  has 
already  been  explained.  The  men  in  ques- 
tion were  not  his  prisoners.  He  allowed 
them  to  proceed  peacefully  on  their  voyage, 
and  their  ship  was  not  taken  from  them. 
Kidd  never  went  on  board  of  her,  much 

222 


KIDD'S   END 

less  did  he  give  directions  to  his  crew  to  ill- 
use  them.  Questioned  as  to  whether  any 
gold  had  been  taken  from  them,  Palmer 
freely  admitted  that  he  did  not  see  any. 
Asked  further  by  Kidd,  whether  it  was  not 
the  case  that  a  parcel  of  rogues  had  gone 
on  board  and  done  the  deed  complained 
of,  he  virtually  admitted  that  it  was  so  by 
making  no  reply.  In  the  matter  of  cruelty 
there  is  a  marked  diiference  between  the 
reported  doings  of  Kidd  and  of  the  pirates 
of  whom  the  East  India  Company  were 
repeatedly  complaining.  In  these  com- 
plaints mention  is  often  made  of  the  out- 
rages committed:  but  in  the  case  of  Kidd 
the  Company  made  no  complaint  of  simi- 
lar misdeeds.  From  all  that  can  be  learned 
of  him,  he  seems  to  have  been  a  kind-hearted 
man.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  truth 
of  his  dying  statement  that  he  had  paid  two 
hundred  pounds  for  his  gunner  Moore's 
ransom,  probably  on  the  occasion  when  the 
natives  had  cut  his  cooper's  throat.    One  of 

£23 


THE   REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

the  reasons  which  led  Bellamont  to  employ 
him  is  stated  by  Bellamont's  apologist  to 
have  been  Kidd's  well-known  affection  for 
his  wife  and  family,  which  was  also  relied  on 
by  Bellamont  as  being  strong  enough  to  pre- 
vent him  from  attempting  to  escape  by  for- 
saking them  on  his  return.  And  we  have  it 
on  the  record  of  a  witness  who  certainly  had 
no  bias  in  his  favour  that  his  chief  solicitude 
in  Newgate  after  he  had  been  sentenced  to 
death  was  for  them  and  not  for  himself. 

The  suggestion  that  Moore,  when  knocked 
on  the  head  by  Kidd,  was  "in  an  agony  of 
remorse  "  for  acts  of  piracy  which  Kidd  had 
led  him  to  commit,  is  almost  too  ludicrous 
to  call  for  comment.  It  is  absolutely  clear 
from  the  evidence  of  everv  witness  of  the 
occurrence  that  so  far  from  Kidd  having  led 
Moore  astray,  Moore  had  vainly  endeav- 
oured to  induce  Kidd  to  become  a  pirate, 
and  that  it  was  his  failure  to  succeed  in  this 
endeavour  that  led  to  the  altercation  which 
ended  in  his  death. 

224 


KIDD'S   END 

But  the  most  flagrant  fiction  fabricated 
bj'^  a  Whig  historian  in  relation  to  poor 
Kidd,  is  not  to  be  found  in  Macaulay's 
history,  but  in  the  pages  of  a  grave 
historical  work,  compiled  by  an  eminent 
lawyer,  who  in  his  day  had  filled  not  only 
the  office  of  Lord  Chief  Justice,  but  also 
that  of  Lord  Chancellor.  That  great  legal 
liuninary.  Lord  Campbell,  in  his  "  Life  of 
Somers  "  has  not  hesitated  to  insert  a  cir- 
cumstantial fable  to  the  effect  that  Kidd  was 
caught  red-handed  on  the  high  seas  in  the 
midst  of  his  criminal  career.  In  the  fifth 
volume  of  his  "  Lives  of  the  Chancellors," 
pages  126  and  127,  he  tells  the  tale  thus: 
"  A  noble  vessel  called  the  Adventure  Gal- 
ley was  fitted  out,  and  the  command  of  her 
given  to  William  Kidd,  a  naval  officer,  es- 
teemed for  honour  as  well  as  for  gallantry. 
On  arriving  in  the  Indian  Seas,  he  turned 
pirate  himself,  and  cruised  against  the  com- 
merce of  all  nations  indiscriminately,  till 
after  a  sharp  engagement  with  an  English 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

frigate  in  which  several  fell  on  both  sides, 
he  was  captured  and  brought  home  in  irons." 
To  such  depths  can  history  sink  when  writ- 
ten by  political  partisans  of  the  highest  rank 
and  respectabihty. 


236 


APPENDIX   A 


1.  Copy  of  Grant  of  Pirates'  Goods 

2.  Articles    of    Agreement    between    Bellamont, 

Livingstone,  and  Kidd 

3.  Kidd's  Sailing  Orders 


APPENDIX   A 

1.   Copy  of  Grant  of  Pirates^  Goods 

William  the  Third,  by  the  Grace  of  God, 
King  of  England,  Scotland,  France  and 
Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  etc.,  To  our 
Right-trusty  and  Well-beloved  Counsellor, 
Sir  John  Somers,  Knight,  our  Keeper  of 
our  Great  Seal  of  England,  Greeting. 

We  will  and  command  you.  That,  under 
our  said  Great  Seal  of  England,  in  your 
custody  being,  you  cause  these  our  letters 
to  be  made  forth  Patents,  in  Form  follow- 
ing: 

William  the  Third,  by  the  Grace  of  God, 
etc..  To  all  to  whom  these  Presents  shall 
come,  or  may  in  any  wise  concern,  Greet- 
ing. Whereas  upon  divers  Complaints  and 
Informations  to  Us  made,  That  Thomas 

2S9 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ToOy  John  Ireland,  Thomas  Wake,  Wil- 
Uam  Mace,  alias  Maze,  and  divers  other  our 
Subjects,  Natives  or  Inhabitants  of  New 
England,  New  York,  and  elsewhere  in  our 
Plantations  in  America,  had  associated 
themselves  with  divers  other  wicked  and  ill- 
disposed  Persons,  in  order  to  commit,  and 
did  frequently  commit,  manj^  great  Piracies, 
Robberies  and  Depredations,  upon  the  Seas 
in  the  Parts  of  America,  and  in  other  Parts 
and  places ;  in  Violation  of  the  Laws  of  Na- 
tions; to  the  Obstruction  and  Discourage- 
ment of  Trade  and  Navigation;  and  to  the 
Loss  and  Prejudice  of  our  Subjects,  and  the 
Subjects  of  our  Friends  and  Allies;  and  also 
to  the  Dishonouring  of  our  Royal  Authority, 
in  case  any  of  our  Subjects,  guilty  of  such 
great  and  detestable  Enormities,  should  go 
unpunished;  We  did,  by  our  Commission 
under  our  Great  Seal  of  England,  bearing 
Date  the  26th  Day  of  January,  in  the  Sev- 
enth Year  of  our  Reign,  in  order  to  bring 
the  said  Pirates,  Freebooters,  and  Sea  Rov- 

230 


APPENDIX   A 

ers,  and  their  accomplices,  to  Justice,  give 
and  grant  full  Power  and  Authority  to  Cap- 
tain William  Kidd,  Commander  of  the  Ship 
Adventure  Galley,  and  to  the  Commander 
of  the  said  Ship  for  the  Time  being,  to  ap- 
prehendj  seize  and  take  into  Custody,  the 
said  Thomas  Too,  John  Ireland,  Tho  Wake,, 
and  William  Maze,  and  all  other  Pirates, 
Free-booters,  and  Sea  Rovers,  of  what  Na- 
tion soever,  whom  he  should  find,  or  meet 
with, upon  the  said  Coasts  or  Seasof  ^mmca^ 
or  in  any  other  Seas  or  Parts,  with  their 
Ships  and  Vessels,  and  all  such  Merchandise, 
Money,  Goods,  and  Wares,  as  should  be 
found  on  board  of  them ;  and,  in  case  of  Re- 
sistance, to  fight  with,  and  compel  the  said 
Pirates,  Free-booters,  and  Sea  Rovers,  to 
yield;  and  them  to  bring  or  cause  to  be 
brought,  to  a  legal  Tryal,  to  the  end  they 
might  forthwith  suffer  condign  Punishment, 
according  to  their  Demerits :  And  we  did  also, 
by  the  same  Commission,  require  the  said 
Captain  William  Kidd  to  keep  an  exact 

231 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Journal  of  his  Proceedings,  in  relation  to 
the  Execution  of  our  Royal  Pleasure 
in  the  said  Premises;  and  therein  to 
set  down  the  Names  of  such  Pirates,  and 
of  their  Ships  and  Vessels,  as  he  should, 
as  aforesaid,  seize  or  take;  and  also  to 
specify  the  Quantities  and  Particulars  of 
the  Arms,  Ammunition,  Provision,  and 
Loading,  of  such  Ships,  and  the  true 
Values  thereof:  And  whereas  the  said 
Ship  Adventure  Galley  was,  with  our 
Knowledge,  and  Royal  Encouragement, 
fitted  out  to  Sea,  for  the  Purposes  afore- 
said, at  the  great  and  sole  charges  of  our 
right  trusty  and  right  well-beloved  Cousin 
Richard  Earl  of  Bellamont  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Ireland,  and  our  trusty  and  well-beloved 
Edmund  Harrison,  INIerchant,  Samuel  New- 
ton, Gentleman,  William  Rowley  Gentle- 
man, George  Watson  Gentleman,  and 
Thomas  Renolls,  of  St.  Martins:  Now  know 
ye,  that  We,  out  of  due  Regard  to  the  Prem- 
ises, and  being  graciously  inclined  that  so 

232 


APPENDIX   A 

chargeable  an  Undertaking,  tending  to  such 
good  and  laudable  Ends,  should  have  meet 
and  proper  Encouragement  and  Reward;  of 
our  special  Grace,  certain  Knowledge,  and 
mere  JNIotion  have  given  and  granted,  and 
by  these  Presents  do  give  and  grant,  unto 
the  said  Richard  Earl  of  Bellamont,  Edmund 
Harrison,  Samuel  Newton,  William  Row- 
ley, George  Watson,  and  Thomas  Renolls, 
their  Heirs,  Executors,  and  Assigns,  all  and 
whatsoever  Ships,  Vessels,  Goods,  and  Mer- 
chandizes, and  Treasure,  and  other  Things 
whatsoever,  which  since  the  Thirtieth  Day 
of  April,  Anno  Domini,  1690,  have  been 
taken  or  seized  upon  or  with,  or  did  belong 
to,  or  which  shall  be  taken  or  seized  upon  or 
with,  or  which  do  or  shall  belong  to  the  said 
Thomas  Too,  John  Ireland,  Thomas  Wake, 
Wm.  Maze  or  their  Adherents,  or  any  other 
Pirates,  Free-booters,  and  Sea  Rovers,  by 
the  said  Captain  William  Kidd,  or  other 
Commander  of  the  said  Adventure  Galley, 
or  which  by,  or  by  means  of  the  said  Ship  or 

233 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Galley,  shall  be  taken,  or  forced  ashore,  in 
any  of  our  Plantations  in  America,  or  other 
our  Dominions;  as  far  as  the  said  Premises, 
or  any  of  them,  do,  shall,  or  may  belong  to 
Us,  or  can  or  may  be  granted  or  grantable 
by  Us,  or  is  or  are  in  our  Power  to  dispose 
of,  in  Right  of  our  Crown  of  England,  or  as 
Perquisites  of  our  Admiralty,  or  otherwise 
howsoever,  and  all  our  Right,  Title,  Inter- 
est, Claim  and  Demand  whatsoever,  of,  in 
or  unto  the  same,  and  every  Part  thereof; 
To  have,  hold,  take,  receive,  and  enjoy  the 
said  Ships,  Vessels,  Goods,  Merchandizes, 
Treasure,  and  all  and  singular  other  the 
Premises  hereinbefore-mentioned,  and  in- 
tended to  be  hereby  granted,  and  every  of 
them,  and  every  Part  and  Parcel  thereof,  or 
such  and  so  many  of  them,  are,  can  or  may 
be,  in  any  manner  granted  or  grantable  by 
Us,  unto  the  said  Richard  Earl  of  Bella- 
mont,  Edmund  Harrison,  Sam  Newton, 
Wm.  Rowley,  George  Watson,  and  Thomas 
Renolls,    their    Executors,    Administrators 

234 


APPENDIX   A 

and  Assigns,  to  their  sole  Use  and  Benefit, 
and  as  their  own  proper  Goods  and  Chattels, 
without  any  Account  thereof  and  therefore 
to  be  made  or  rendered  to  Us,  our  Heirs 
and  Successors :  And  We  do  hereby  for  Us, 
our  Heirs  and  Successors,  charge  and  com- 
mand the  Commissioners  of  our  Treasury 
now  being,  and  the  High  Treasurer,  or 
Commissioners  of  our  Treasury  for  the  Time 
being,  and  all  other  our  officers  of  our  Rev- 
enue, our  Commissioners  for  executing  the 
office  of  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England, 
now,  and  for  the  Time  being,  and  all  other 
our  Admirals,  Vice  Admirals,  Judge  and 
Judges  of  our  Court  and  Courts  of  Admi- 
ralty, Governors  of  all  and  every  our  Col- 
onies, Islands  and  Plantations  in  America, 
Magistrates,  Officials  Military  and  Civil,  and 
all  other  our  loving  Subjects  whatsoever, 
That  they  be  aiding  and  assisting  in  all  and 
every  matters  and  Things,  as  to  them  re- 
spectively shall  appertain,  as  well  as  to  the 
said  Captain  Wm.  Kidd,  in  the  seizing,  ap- 

235 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

prehending,  taking  and  securing,  the  said 
Pirates  and  their  Ships  and  Vessels,  and 
other  the  Premises  hereinbefore  mentioned, 
and  intended  to  be  hereby  granted,  every  or 
any  one  of  them,  and  in  bringing  the  said  of- 
fenders to  Justice;  as  also  unto  the  said  Cap- 
tain Wm.  Kidd,  and  all  others  whom  it  may 
concern,  in  the  seizing,  securing,  and  deliv- 
ering to  them,  the  said  Richard  Earl  of  Bel- 
lamont,  Edmund  Harrison,  Samuel  Newton, 
Wm.  Rowley,  Geo.  Watson,  and  Tho. 
Renolls,  their  assigns,  Agents,  and  Serv- 
ants, all  and  every  the  said  Ships,  Vessels, 
Goods,  Merchandizes,  Treasure,  and  other 
Things  hereinbefore  mentioned,  and  intended 
to  be  hereby  granted,  according  to  the  true 
Intent  and  meaning  hereof;  and  in  such 
manner,  as  may  most  effectually  contribute 
to  the  putting  in  Execution  our  gracious 
Intentions  in  and  about  the  Premises,  for 
and  on  the  behalf  of  the  said  Richard  Earl 
of  Bellamont,  Edmund  Harrison,  Williani 
Newton,    William   Rowley,   Geo.    Watson, 

236 


APPENDIX    A 

and  Thomas  Rcnollsj  And  lastly,  We  do 
hereby  declare  and  grant,  That  these  our 
Letters  Patents,  or  the  Enrollment  thereof, 
shall  be,  in  and  by  all  Things,  firm,  good, 
valid,  sufficient,  and  effectual  in  the  Law,  not- 
withstanding the  not  naming,  or  not  rightly 
naming,  the  Premises,  or  any  Part  thereof, 
or  the  true  Value,  or  the  Nature  or  Kind 
thereof;  and  notwithstanding  the  not  men- 
tioning, or  not  rightly  mentioning,  the 
Names  of  the  said  Pirates,  Free-booters,  and 
Sea  Rovers,  or  any  of  them,  or  of  the  Posses- 
sors of  the  said  Sloops,  Vessels,  Merchandizes, 
Goods,  Treasure,  and  Premises,  or  any  Part 
or  Parcel  thereof;  and  notwithstanding  the 
ill  naming,  or  not  naming,  or  any  Seas, 
Havens,  Countries,  or  Places,  wherein,  or  in 
which,  the  Premises  hereby  granted,  or  any 
Part  or  Parcel  thereof,  is  or  are,  shall  or  may 
be  found;  and  notwithstanding  any  mis- 
recital,  non-recital,  Incertainty,  Defect,  or 
Imperfection,  whatsoever.  In  witness,  etc., 
V^^itness,    etc..    Given   under   our    Privy 

237 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Seal,  at  our  Palace  of  Westminster,  the  30th 
Day  of  April,  in  the  Ninth  Year  of  our 
Reign. 

Tho.  Watkins.  Recepi  vicesimo  septimo 

Die.    Mali  1697 

2.   Articles  of  Agreement  between  Bel- 

LAMONT,  LeVINGSTON  AND  KiDD 

Articles  of  Agreement,  made  this  10th 
Day  of  October  1695,  between  the  Right 
Honourable  Richard,  Earl  of  Bellamont,  of 
the  one  Part;  and  Robert  Levingston  Es- 
quire, and  Captain  William  Kidd,  of  the 
other  part. 

Whereas  the  said  Captain  Kidd  is  desir- 
ous to  obtain  a  Commission  as  Captain  of  a 
private  Man  of  War,  in  order  to  take  Prizes 
from  the  King's  Enemies,  and  otherwise  to 
annoy  them :  And  whereas  also,  certain  Per- 
sons did  some  time  since  depart  from  New 
England,  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  and 
other  Parts  in  America,  and  elsewhere,  with 
an  Intention  to  become  Pirates,  and  to  com- 

238 


APPENDIX   A 

mit  spoils  and  Depredations  against  the  Law 
of  Nations,  in  the  Red  Sea  or  elsewhere,  and 
to  return,  with  such  Goods  and  Riches  as 
they  shall  get,  to  certain  Places  by  them 
agreed  upon,  of  which  said  Persons  and 
Places  the  said  Captain  Kidd  hath  Notice, 
and  is  desirous  to  fight  with  and  subdue  the 
said  Pirates,  as  also  all  other  Pirates,  with 
whom  the  said  Captain  Kidd  shall  meet  at 
Sea,  in  case  he  be  employed  to  do;  And 
whereas  it  is  agreed  between  the  said  Parties, 
That  for  the  Purposes  aforesaid,  a  good  and 
sufficient  Ship  to  the  Liking  of  the  said 
Captain  Kidd,  shall  be  forthwith  bought, 
whereof  the  said  Captain  Kidd,  is  to  have 
the  Command.  Now  these  Present  witness, 
and  it  is  agreed  between  the  said  Parties : 

1.  The  said  Earl  of  Bellamont  doth  cove- 
nant and  agree  at  his  proper  charge,  to  pro- 
cure from  the  King's  Majesty,  or  from  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty,  as 
the  Case  shall  require,  One  or  more  Commis- 
sions, impowering    him    the    said    Captain 

239 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Kidd  to  Act  against  the  King's  Enemies, 
and  to  take  Prizes  from  them,  as  a  private 
man  of  War  in  the  usual  manner;  and  also 
to  fight  with,  conquer,  and  subdue  Pirates; 
and  to  take  them  and  their  Goods,  with  such 
other  large  and  beneficial  Powers,  and 
Clauses  in  such  Commissions,  as  may  be  most 
2)ro2)er  and  effectual  in  such  cases. 

2.  The  said  Earl  doth  covenant  and  agree, 
That  witliin  Three  months  after  the  said 
Captain  Kidd's  departure  from  England 
for  the  Purpose  in  these  Presents  men- 
tioned, he  will  procure,  at  his  proper  charge, 
a  Grant  from  the  King,  to  be  made  to  some 
indifferent  and  Trustv  Person,  of  all  such 
Goods,  JNIerchandizes,  Treasure  and  other 
Things,  as  shall  be  taken  from  the  said  Pi- 
rates, or  any  other  Pirates  whatsoever,  by 
the  said  Captain  Kidd,  or  by  the  said  Ship, 
or  any  other  Ship  or  Ships  under  his 
Command. 

3.  The  said  Earl  doth  agree  to  pay  Four 
Fifth  Parts,  the  Whole  in  Five  Parts  to  be 

240 


APPENDIX   A 

divided,  of  all  Monies,  which  shall  be  laid 
out  for  the  buying  such  good  and  sufficient 
Ship  for  the  Purposes  aforesaid,  together 
with  Rigging  and  other  Apparel  and  Furni- 
ture thereof,  and  providing  the  same  with 
competent  Victualing,  the  said  Ship  to  be 
approved  of  by  the  said  Parties;  and  the 
said  other  Fifth  Part  of  the  charges  of  the 
said  Ship  to  be  paid  by  the  said  Robert  Lev- 
ingston  and  William  Kidd. 

4.  The  said  Earl  doth  agree,  That  in  order 
to  the  speedy  buying  of  the  said  Ship,  and  in 
Part  of  the  said  Four  Parts  of  Five  of  the 
said  Charges,  he  will  pay  down  the  Sum  of 
1,600Z.  by  Way  of  Advance,  on  or  before 
the  6th  Day  of  November  next  ensuing. 

5.  The  said  Robert  Levingston  and  Cap- 
tain William  Kidd  do  jointly  and  severally 
covenant  and  agree,  That  on  or  before  the 
said  6th  Day  of  November,  when  the  said 
Earl  of  Bellamont  is  to  pay  the  said  sum  of 
1,600Z.  as  aforesaid,  they  will  advance  and 
pay  down  4*001.  in  Part  of  the  Share  and 

241 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Proportion  which  they  are  to  have  in  the 
said  Ship. 

6.  The  said  Earl  doth  agi-ee  to  pay  such 
further  Sum  of  Money,  as  shall  complete, 
and  make  up,  the  said  Four  Parts  of  Five, 
of  the  Charges  of  the  said  Ship's  Apparel, 
Furniture  and  Victualing,  unto  the  said 
Robert  Levingston  and  William  Kidd, 
within  Seven  Weeks  after  the  Date  of  these 
Presents,  and,  in  the  like  manner,  the  said 
Robert  Levingston  and  William  Kidd,  do 
agree  to  pay  such  further  Sum  as  shall 
amount  to  a  Fifth  Part  of  the  whole  charge 
of  the  said  Ship,  within  Seven  Weeks  after 
the  Date  of  these  Presents. 

7.  The  said  Captain  Kidd  doth  covenant 
and  agree  to  procure  and  take  with  him,  on 
board  the  said  Ship,  one  hundred  Mariners 
and  Seamen,  or  thereabouts,  and  to  make 
what  reasonable  and  convenient  Speed  he 
can  to  set  out  to  Sea  with  the  said  Ship ;  and 
to  sail  to  such  Places  or  Parts  where  he  may 
meet  with  the  said  Pirates;  and  to  use  his 

242 


APPEXDIX   A 

utmost  Endeavour  to  meet  with,  conquer  and 
subdue  the  said  Pirates,  or  any  other  Pirates ; 
and  to  take  from  them  their  Goods,  Mer- 
chandizes and  Treasure;  also  to  take  what 
Prizes  he  can  from  the  King's  Enemies,  and 
forthwith  to  make  the  best  of  his  Way  to 
Boston  in  New  England;  and  that  without 
touching  at  any  Port  or  Harbour  whatso- 
ever, or  without  breaking  Bulk,  or  diminish- 
ing any  Part  of  what  he  shall  take  or  obtain, 
on  any  Pretence  whatsoever;  of  which  he 
shall  make  Oath,  in  case  the  same  shall  be 
desired  by  the  said  Earl  of  Bellamont;  and 
there  to  deliver  the  same  into  the  hands  or 
Possession  of  the  said  Earl. 

8.  The  said  Captain  Kidd  doth  agree.  That 
the  Contract  and  Bargain  which  he  will 
make  with  the  said  Ship's  Crew,  shall  be, 
No  Purchase,  No  Pay;  and  not  otherwise: 
And  that  the  Share  and  Proportion  which 
his  said  Crew  shall,  by  such  Contract,  have 
of  such  Prizes,  Goods,  Merchandizes,  and 
Treasure,  as  he  shall  take  as  Prize,  or  from 

243 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

any  Pirates,  shall  not,  at  the  most,  exceed 
a  Fourth  Part  of  the  same ;  and  shall  be  less 
than  a  Fourth  Part,  in  case  the  same  may 
reasonably  and  conveniently  be  agreed  upon. 
9.  The  said  Robert  Levingston,  and  Cap- 
tain Wm.  Kidd,  do  jointly  and  severally 
agree  with  the  said  Earl  of  Bellamont,  That 
in  case  the  said  Captain  Kidd  do  not  meet 
with  the  said  Pirates,  wliich  went  from  New 
England,  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  or  else- 
where, as  aforesaid ;  or  do  not  take  from  any 
other  Pirates,  or  from  any  the  King's  Ene- 
mies, such  Goods,  Merchandizes,  or  other 
Things  of  Value,  as  being  divided  as  here- 
inafter is  mentioned,  shall  fully  recompense 
the  said  Earl,  for  the  monies  by  him  ex- 
pended in  buying  the  said  Four  Fifth  Parts 
of  the  said  Ship  and  Premises;  that  then  they 
shall  refund  and  repay  to  the  said  Earl  of 
Bellamont,  the  whole  Money  by  him  to  be 
advanced,  in  Sterling  Money,  or  Money 
equivalent  thereunto,  on  or  before  the  25th 
Day  of  March  which  shall  in  the  Year  of 

244 


APPENDIX   A 

our  Lord  1697;  the  Danger  of  the  Seas,  and 
of  the  Enemy,  and  Mortahty  of  the  said 
Captain  Kidd,  always  excepted :  Upon  Pay- 
ment whereof,  the  said  Robert  Levingston 
and  Captain  Kidd  are  to  have  the  sole  Prop- 
erty in  the  said  Ship  and  Furniture;  and  this 
Indenture  to  be  delivered  up  to  them,  with 
all  other  Covenants  and  obligations  there- 
unto belo7iging. 

10.  It  is  agreed  between  the  said  Parties, 
That  as  well  the  Goods,  Merchandizes, 
Treasure  and  other  Things  which  shall  be 
taken  from  the  said  Pirates,  or  any  Pirates, 
by  the  said  Wilham  Kidd,  as  also  all  such 
Prizes  as  shall  be  by  him  taken  from  any  of 
the  King's  Enemies,  shall  be  divided  in  man- 
ner following;  that  is  to  say,  Such  Part  as 
shall  be  for  that  Purpose  agreed  upon  by  the 
said  Captain  Kidd,  so  as  the  same  do  not  in 
the  Whole  exceed  a  Fourth  Part,  shall  be 
paid  or  delivered  to  the  Ship's  Crew,  for 
their  Use;  and  the  other  Three  Parts  to  be 
divided  into  Five  equal  Parts,  whereof  the 

245 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

said  Earl  is  to  have,  to  his  own  Use,  Foiir 
full  Parts,  and  the  other  Fifth  Part  is  to  be 
equally  divided  between  the  said  Robert 
Levingston  and  the  said  Wni.  Kidd;  and  is 
to  be  paid  and  delivered  them  by  the  said 
Earl  of  Bellamont,  without  Deduction  or 
Abatement  or  any  Pretence  whatsoever. 
But  it  is  always  to  be  understood,  that  such 
Prizes  as  shall  be  taken  from  the  King's 
Enemies,  are  to  be  lawfully  adjudged 
Prizes,  in  the  usual  manner  before  any  divi- 
sion, or  otherwise  intermeddling  therewith, 
than  according  to  the  true  Interest  of  the 
same  Commission,  to  be  granted  in  that 
behalf. 

Lastly,  it  is  covenanted  and  agreed  be- 
tween the  Parties  to  these  Presents,  That  in 
case  the  said  Captain  Wm.  Kidd  do  bring  to 
Boston  aforesaid,  and  there  deliver  to  the 
Earl  of  Bellamont,  Goods,  Merchandizes, 
Treasure  and  Prizes  to  the  Value  of 
100,000/.  or  upwards,  which  he  shall  have 
taken  from  the  said  Pirates,  or  from  other 

246 


APPENDIX   A 

Pirates,  or  from  the  King's  Enemies;  that 
then  the  Ship  which  is  now  speedily  to  be 
bought  by  the  said  Parties,  shall  be  and  re- 
main to  the  sole  Use  and  Behoof  of  him  the 
said  Captain  Kidd,  as  a  Reward  and  Grati- 
fication for  his  Good  Service  therein. 

Bellamont. 

Memorandmn.  Before  the  Sealing 

and  Delivery  of  these  Presents,  it  was  cove- 
nanted and  agreed  by  the  said  Earl  of  Bel- 
lamont with  the  said  Robert  Levingston  Es- 
quire and  Captain  William  Kidd  That  the 
Person  to  whom  the  Grant  abovementioned 
in  these  articles  shall  be  made  by  his  Maj- 
esty, shall  within  Eight  Days  at  the  most, 
after  such  Grant  has  passed  the  Great  Seal 
of  England,  assign  and  transfer  to  each  of 
them,  the  said  Robert  Levingston  Esquire, 
and  Captain  William  Kidd,  respectively, 
their  Heirs  and  Assigns,  One  full  Tenth 
Part  (the  Ship's  Crew's  Share  and  Propor- 
tion being  first  deducted)  of  all  such  Goods, 

247 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Treasure  or  other  Things,  as  shall  be  taken 
by  the  said  Captain  Kidd,  by  virtue  of  such 
Commission  as  aforesaid:  And  the  said 
Grantee  shall  make  such  Assignment  as 
aforesaid,  in  such  manner  as  by  the  said 
Robert  Levin gston  Esquire,  and  Captain 
William  Kidd,  or  their  Counsel  learned  in 
the  Law,  shall  be  reasonably  devised  and  re- 
quired: And  then  these  Presents  were 
sealed  and  delivered,  the  Sixpenny  Stamp 
being  first  affixed,  in  the  Presence  of  us. 

Martha  Breken 
John  Maddocke 
John  Moulder. 

Whereas  the  necessary  Fitting,  Equip- 
ping and  Outset,  of  the  Adventure  Galley, 
bought  b}"  the  above-mentioned  Wm.  Kidd, 
in  pursuance  of  these  Articles,  could  not  be 
completely  finished  and  perfected  within  the 
time  thereby  limited ;  and  consequently,  that 
all  the  several  Sums  of  INIonev,  therein  cove- 
nanted  to  be  paid  were  not  actually  paid  by 

248 


APPENDIX   A 

all  or  any  the  Parties  to  the  above-written 
Covenants  and  Agreements,  within  the  Time 
thereby  expressed,  limited  and  directed ;  but 
that,  nevertheless,  all  the  said  Smns  have 
since  been  paid;  and  the  Ship  bought  for 
the  Voyage  and  Design  expressed  in  these 
Articles,  is  now  completely  fitted  out  and 
provided  with  all  Things  necessary,  and  lies 
ready  to  depart,  and  that  also  the  several 
Commissions  have  been  obtained  by  the  Earl 
of  Bellamont.  It  is  hereby  further  mutually 
declared,  covenanted  and  agreed,  by  and  be- 
tween the  abovesaid  Right  honourable 
Richard  Earl  of  Bellamont,  and  Robert 
Levingston,  and  William  Kidd,  on  behalf  of 
themselves,  and  all  others  concerned  therein, 
That,  notwithstanding  the  Delay  in  the  Dis- 
patch of  the  said  Ship  or  Galley,  and  of  the 
Payments  of  the  Monies  expressed  in  the 
above-mentioned  Agreement,  that,  yet,  nev- 
ertheless, all  and  singular  the  several  Agree- 
ments, articles  and  Clauses,  therein  men- 
tioned and  intended,  as  hereby  declared  to 

249 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

be,  and  are  and  shall  be  and  remain  in  as 
full  Force  and  Virtue,  as  if  the  said  Ship, 
and  all  the  Sums  of  money,  had  been  actu- 
ally paid  within  the  time  limited  and  di- 
rected by  the  said  Articles,  anything  therein 
to  contrary  notwithstanding. 

Dated  in  London,  the  20th  Day  of  Febru- 
ary 1695/6. 

Witness  present  at  the  Bellamont. 

Signing  and  Sealing  thereof. 
Sarah  Oaklet 
John  Stanley 

3.    KiDD^s  Sailing  Orders 

London,  25th  February,  1695/6. 

Captain  William  Kidd, 

You  being  now 
ready  to  sail,  I  do  hereby  desire  and  direct 
you,  that  you  and  your  Men  do  serve  God 
in  the  best  Manner  you  can:  That  you  keep 
good  Order,  and  good  Government,  in  your 
Ship :  That  you  make  the  best  of  your  Way 
to  the  Place  and  Station  where  you  are  to 
put   the   Powers   you   have   in   Execution: 

250 


APPENDIX   A 

And,  having  effected  the  same,  You  are, 
according  to  Agreement,  to  sail  directly  to 
Boston  in  New  England,  there  to  deliver 
unto  me  the  Whole  of  what  Prizes,  Treas- 
ure, Merchandizes,  and  other  Things,  you 
shall  have  taken  by  virtue  of  the  Pow- 
ers and  Authorities  granted  you:  But 
if,  after  the  Success  of  your  Design,  you 
shall  fall  in  with  any  English  Fleet  bound 
for  England,  having  good  convoy,  you  are, 
in  such  case  to  keep  them  Company,  and 
bring  all  Your  Prizes  to  London,  notwith- 
standing any  Covenant  to  the  contrary  in 
our  Articles  of  Agreement.  Pray  fail  not 
to  give  Advice,  by  all  Opportunities,  how 
the  Galley  proves;  how  your  Men  stand, 
what  Progress  you  make;  and,  in  general, 
of  all  remarkable  Passages  in  your  Voyage, 
to  the  time  of  your  Writing.  Direct  your 
Letters  to  Mr.  Edmund  Harrison.  I  pray 
God  grant  you  good  Success,  and  send  us  a 
good  Meeting  again. 

Bellamont. 
251 


APPENDIX   B 


1.  Nabbative  of  His  Voyage  by  Kidd 

2.  The   Examination   of   Wiluam   Jinkins,   Richabd 

Bableycobne  and  Robebt  Lumley 

3.  The  ExAinNATiON  of  Hugh  Pabbatt 

4.  The  Examination  of  Gabbiel  Loff 

5.  The  Depositions  of  Abel  Owen  and  Samuel  Abbis, 

English  Smith,  Humphby  Clay  and  Hugh  Pab- 
batt 


APPENDIX   B 

I 

1.  A  Copy  of  a  Narrative  of  the  Voyage 
OF  Captain  William  Kidd^  Com- 
mander of  the  "  Adventure  Gal- 
ley/^ FROM  London  to  the  East 
Indies. 

Boston,  17th  July,  1699.  Mr.  John 
Gardner  of  Gardner's  Island  presented  this 
note  to  His  Excellency  in  Council,  which  he 
made  oath  was  delivered  to  him  by  Captain 
Kidd,  as  was  wrote  with  the  said  Kidd's 
own  hand  on  board  his  sloop,  and  all  the 
particulars  therein  mentioned  were  com- 
mitted to  his  custody. 

Examined  by  Isa  Addington  Secretary. 

That  the  Journal  of  the  said  Captain 
Kidd,  being  violently  taken  from  him  in  the 

255 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Port  of  St.  Marie's  in  Madagascar,  and  his 
Life  being  many  times  threatened  to  be 
taken  away  from  him  by  Ninety- Seven  of 
his  Men  that  deserted  him  there,  he  cannot 
give  that  exact  Account  he  otherwise  could 
have  done:  but  as  far  as  his  Memory  will 
serve,  is  as  foUoweth,  viz.. 

That  the  said  Adventure  Galley  was 
launched  in  Castle's  Yard  at  Deptford, 
about  the  Fourth  of  December  1695;  and 
about  the  latter  end  of  February  the  said 
Galley  came  to  the  Buoy  in  the  Nore: 
and  about  the  1st  Day  of  March  following, 
his  Men  were  pressed  for  him  for  the  Fleet ; 
which  caused  him  to  stay  there  for  Nineteen 
Days;  and  then  sailed  for  the  Donnes,  and 
arrived  there  about  the  Eighth  or  the  Tenth 
Day  of  April  1696;  and  sailed  thence  for 
Plymouth;  and  on  the  Twenty-third  Day  of 
the  said  month  of  April  he  sailed  on  his  in- 
tended Voyage :  and,  some  time  in  the  month 
of  May,  met  with  a  small  French  Vesssel, 
with   Salt  and   Fishing   Tackle   on  board, 

256 


APPENDIX   B 

bound  for  Newfoundland,  which  he  took  and 
made  Prize  of,  and  carried  the  same  into 
New  York,  about  the  Fourth  Day  of  July, 
when  she  was  condemned  as  lawful  Prize: 
The  Produce  whereof  purchased  provisions 
for  the  said  Galley,  and  for  her  further  in- 
tended Voyage. 

That  about  the  Sixth  Day  of  September 
1696,  the  said  Captain  Kidd  sailed  for  the 
Maderas,  in  company  with  one  Joyner, 
Master  of  a  Brigantine  belonging  to  Ber- 
mudas, and  arrived  there  about  the  8th  Day 
of  October  following:  and  thence  to  Bona- 
vista,  where  they  arrived  about  the  nine- 
teenth of  the  said  month,  and  took  in  some 
Salt,  and  stayed  Three  or  Four  Days;  and 
sailed  thence  to  St.  J  ago,  and  arrived  there 
the  Twenty-fourth  of  the  said  Month,  where 
he  took  in  some  Water,  and  stayed  about 
Eight  or  Nine  Days;  and  thence  sailed  for 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  and  in  the  Lati- 
tude of  Thirty-two,  on  the  Twelfth  Day  of 
December   1696,   met   with   Four   English 

257 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Men  of  War:  Captain  Warren  was  Com- 
modore; and  sailed  a  week  in  their  Com- 
pany ;  and  then  parted,  and  sailed  to  Telere, 
a  Port  in  the  Island  of  Madagascar,  and  be- 
ing there  about  the  Twenty-ninth  Day  of 
January,  came  in  a  Sloop  belonging  to  Bar- 
hadoes,  loaded  with  Rmn,  Sugar,  Powder 
and  Shot,  one  French  Master,  and  Mr. 
Hatton  and  Mr.  John  Batt,  Merchants ;  and 
the  said  Hatton  came  on  board  the  said  Gal- 
ley, and  was  suddenly  taken  ill  and  died  in 
the  Cabin:  And,  about  the  latter  end  of 
February,  sailed  for  the  Island  of  Johanna, 
the  said  Sloop  keeping  Company,  and  ar- 
rived there  about  the  Eighteenth  Day  of 
March;  where  he  found  Four  East  India 
Merchantsmen  outward  bound ;  and  watered 
there  all  together,  and  staid  about  Four 
Days:  And  from  thence,  about  the  Twenty- 
second  of  March,  sailed  for  Mehila,  an 
Island  Ten  Leagues  distant  from  Jo- 
hanna, where  he  arrived  the  next  Morn- 
ing, and  there  careened  the  said   Galley; 

258 


APPENDIX   B 

and  about  Fifty  men  died  there  in  a  Week's 
Time. 

That  on  the  25th  Day  of  April  1697,  set 
sail  for  the  Coast  of  India,  and  came  upon 
the  Coast  of  Mallahar,  the  Beginning  of  the 
Ninth  of  September;  and  went  into  Carwarr 
upon  that  Coast  about  the  middle  of  the 
same  Month,  and  watered  there:  And  the 
Gentlemen  of  the  English  factory  gave  the 
Narrator  an  account,  That  the  Portuguese 
were  fitting  out  Two  Men  of  War  to  take 
him;  and  advised  liim  to  put  out  to  Sea, 
and  to  take  Care  of  himself  from  them,  and 
immediately  to  set  sail  thereupon;  .  .  . 
about  the  12th  of  the  said  month  of  Septem- 
ber; and  the  next  morning,  about  Break  of 
Day  saw  the  said  Two  Men  of  War  standing 
for  the  said  Galley ;  and  spoke  with  him  and 
asked  him,  Whence  he  was?  Who  replied 
from  London;  and  they  returned  answer, 
From  Goa;  and  so  parted,  wishing  each 
other  a  good  Voyage;  And  making  still 
along  the  Coast,  the  Commodore  of  the  said 

259 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Man  of  War  kept  dogging  the  said  Galley 
all  the  Night,  waiting  an  Opportunity  to 
board  her;  and  in  the  Morning,  without 
speaking  a  Word,  Fired  Six  great  Guns  at 
the  Galley,  some  whereof  went  through  her, 
and  wounded  Four  of  liis  Men;  and  there- 
upon he  fired  upon  him  again ;  and  the  Fight 
continued  all  Day;  and  the  narrator  had 
Eleven  Men  wounded:  the  other  Portuguese 
man  of  War  lav  some  Distance  off,  and 
could  not  come  up  with  the  Galley,  being 
calm;  else  would  have  likewise  assaulted  the 
same ;  the  said  Fight  was  sharp,  and  the  said 
Portuguese  left  the  said  Galley  with  such 
Satisfaction,  that  the  Narrator  believes  no 
Portuguese  will  ever  attack  the  King's  Col- 
ours again,  in  that  Part  of  the  World  es- 
pecially. And  afterwards  continued  upon 
the  same  Coast,  cruising  upon  the  coast  of 
Cameroone,  for  Pirates  that  frequent  that 
Coast,  till  the  Beginning  of  the  month  of 
November  1697,  When  he  met  with  Captain 
How  in  the  Loyal  Captaine,  an  English 

260 


APPENDIX   B 

Ship  belonging  to  Maderas,  bound  to  Sur- 
rati,  whom  he  examined;  and  finding  his 
Pass  good,  designed  to  freely  to  let  her  pass 
about  her  Affairs;  but,  having  Two  Dutch- 
men on  board,  they  told  the  Narrator's  Men, 
That  thev  had  divers  Greeks  and  Arme- 
nians  on  board,  who  had  divers  precious 
Stones  and  divers  other  rich  Goods  on 
board,  which  caused  his  Men  to  be  very  mu- 
tinous, and  got  up  their  Arms,  and  swore 
they  would  take  the  Ship :  and  two-thirds  of 
his  Men  voted  for  the  same:  The  narrator 
told  them,  the  small  Arms  belonged  to  the 
Galley,  and  that  he  was  not  come  to  take 
any  Englishmen,  or  lawful  Traders;  and 
that  if  they  attempted  any  such  thing,  they 
should  never  come  on  board  the  Galley 
again,  nor  have  the  Boat,  or  small  Arms;  for 
he  had  no  Commission  to  take  any  but  the 
King's  Enemies,  and  Pirates,  and  that  he 
would  attack  them  with  the  Galley,  and 
drive  them  into  Bombay;  the  other  being  a 
Merchantman,  and  having  no  Guns,  might 

261 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

easily  have  done  it  with  a  few  Hands;  and, 
with  all  the  Arguments  and  Menaces  he 
could  use,  could  scarce  restrain  them  from 
their  unlawful  Design;  but  at  last  I  pre- 
vailed, and  with  much  ado  I  got  him  clear, 
and  let  him  go  about  his  Business.  All  which 
the  said  Captain  How  will  attest,  if  hving. 

And  that,  about  the  18th  or  19th  Day  of 
the  said  month  of  November,  met  with  a 
Moors  Sliip  of  about  200  Tons  coming  from 
Surratt,  bound  to  the  Coast  of  Mallahar, 
loaded  with  Two  Horses,  Sugar  and  Cotton, 
to  trade  there  having  about  Forty  Moors  on 
board,  with  a  Dutch  Pilot,  Boatswain,  and 
Gunner;  which  said  Ship  the  Narrator 
haled,  and  commanded  on  board;  and  with 
him  came  Eight  or  Nine  Moors,  and  the  said 
Three  Dutchmen,  who  declared  it  was  a 
Moors  Ship ;  and  demanding  their  pass  from 
Surrat,  which  they  shewed;  and  the  same 
was  a  French  Pass,  which  he  believes  was 
shewn  by  a  Mistake;  for  the  Pilot  swore 
Sacrament  she  was  a  Prize,  and  staid  on 

262 


APPENDIX   B 

board  the  Galley;  and  would  not  return  on 
board  the  Moor  Ship ;  but  went  in  the  Gal- 
ley to  the  Port  of  St.  Marie. 

And  that,  about  the  First  Day  of  Febru- 
ary following,  upon  the  same  Coast,  under 
French  Colours  with  a  Design  to  decoy,  met 
with  a  Bengali  Merchantman  belonging  to 
Surratt,  of  the  Burden  of  4.  or  500  Tons, 
10  Guns;  and  he  commanded  the  Master  on 
board;  and  a  Frenchman,  Inhabitant  of 
Surratt,  and  belonging  to  the  French  Fac- 
tory there,  and  Gunner  of  the  said  Ship, 
came  on  board  as  Master;  and  when  he 
came  on  board,  the  Narrator  caused  the 
English  Colours  to  be  hoisted ;  and  the  said 
Master  was  surprised,  and  said.  You  are 
all  English;  and  asking,  which  was  the 
Captain?  Whom  when  he  saw,  said,  Here 
is  a  good  Prize,  and  delivered  him  the 
French  Pass. 

And  that,  with  the  said  Two  Prizes,  sailed 
for  the  Port  of  St.  Marie's  in  Madagascar; 
and,  sailing  thither,  the  said  Galley  was  so 

263 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIX    KIDD 

leaky,  that  they  feared  she  would  have  sunk 
every  Hour,  and  it  required  Eight  men 
every  Two  Glasses  to  keep  her  free ;  and  was 
forced  to  woold  her  round  with  Cables  to 
keep  her  together;  and  with  much  ado  car- 
ried her  into  the  said  Port  of  St.  Mane's, 
where  she  arrived  about  the  First  of  April, 
1698:  And  about  the  6th  day  of  May,  the 
lesser  Prize  was  haled  into  the  careening 
Island  or  Key,  the  other  not  being  arrived; 
and  ransacked  and  sunk  by  the  mutinous 
men;  who  threatened  the  Narrator,  and  the 
men  that  would  not  join  with  them  to  burn 
and  sink  the  other,  that  they  might  not  go 
home  and  tell  the  news. 

And  that,  when  he  arrived  in  the  said 
Port,  there  was  a  Pirate  Ship,  called  the 
Moca  Frigate,  at  an  Anchor,  Robert  CuUi- 
ford.  Commander  thereof;  who  with  his 
Men,  left  the  same  at  his  coming  in,  and  ran 
into  the  Woods :  and  the  Narrator  proposed 
to  his  ]\Ien  to  take  the  same,  having  suffi- 
cient Power  and  Authority  so  to  do;  but 

264 


APPENDIX   B 

the  Mutinous  Crew  told  him,  If  he  offered 
the  same,  they  would  rather  fire  Two  Guns 
into  him,  than  one  into  the  other ;  and  there- 
upon Ninety-seven  deserted,  and  went  into 
the  Moca  Frigate,  and  sent  into  the  Woods 
for  the  said  Pirates,  and  brought  the  said 
CulUford,  and  his  Men,  on  board  again ;  and 
all  the  time  she  staid  in  the  said  Port,  which 
was  the  Space  of  Four  or  Five  Days,  the 
said  Deserters,  sometimes  in  great  Nimibers, 
came  on  board  the  said  Galley  and  Adven- 
ture Prize,  and  carried  away  great  Guns, 
Powder,  Shot,  small  Arms,  Sails,  Anchors, 
Cables,  Surgeons,  Chests,  and  what  else  they 
pleased;  and  threatened  several  times  to 
murder  the  Narrator,  as  he  was  informed, 
and  advised  to  take  care  of  himself;  which 
they  designed  in  the  Night  to  effect ;  but  was 
prevented  by  him  locking  himself  in  his 
Cabin  at  Night,  and  securing  himself  with 
barricading  the  same  with  Bales  of  Goods; 
and,  having  about  Forty  small  Arms,  be- 
sides Pistols,  ready  charged,  kept  them  out; 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Their  Wickedness  was  so  great,  after  they 
had  plundered  and  ransacked  sufficiently, 
went  Four  Miles  off  to  one  Edward 
Welclie's  House,  where  his  the  Narrator's 
Chest  was  lodged,  and  broke  it  open;  and 
took  out  Ten  Ounces  of  Gold,  40  Pound  of 
Plate,  370  Pieces  of  Eight,  the  Narrator's 
Journal,  and  a  great  many  Papers  that  be- 
longed to  him,  and  the  People  of  New  York 
that  fitted  them  out. 

That  about  the  15th  Ju7ie,  the  Moca  Frig- 
ate went  away,  being  mamied  with  about  130 
JMen,  and  Forty  Guns,  bound  out  to  take  all 
Nations :  Then  it  was  that  the  Narrator  was 
left  with  only  Thirteen  men;  so  that  the 
Moors  he  had  to  pump  and  keep  the  Adven- 
ture Galley  above  Water,  being  carried  away, 
she  sunk  in  the  Harbour ;  and  the  Narrator, 
with  the  said  Thirteen  men,  went  on  board 
the  Adventure  Prize;  where  he  was  forced 
to  stay  Five  Months  for  a  Fair  Wind;  In 
the  meantime,  some  Passengers  presented, 
that  were  bound  for  these  Parts;  which  he 

266 


APPENDIX   B 

took  on  board,  to  help  to  bring  the  said  Ad- 
venture Prize  home. 

That,  about  the  beginning  of  April,  1699, 
the  Narrator  arrived  at  Anguilla  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  sent  his  Boat  on  Shore;  where 
his  Men  had  the  News  That  he  and  his  Peo- 
ple were  proclaimed  Pirates,  which  put  them 
into  such  Consternation,  That  they  sought  all 
Opportunity  to  run  the  Ship  on  Shore  upon 
some  Reef  or  Shoal,  fearing  the  Narrator 
should  carry  them  into  some  English  Port. 

From  Anguilla  they  came  to  St. 
Thomas';  where  his  Brother-in-law  Samuel 
Bradley  was  put  on  shore,  being  sick;  and 
Five  more  went  away,  and  deserted  him: 
Where  he  heard  the  same  News,  That  the 
Narrator,  and  his  Company,  were  pro- 
claimed Pirates,  which  incensed  the  People 
more  and  more. 

From  St.  Thomas  set  sail  for  Moona,  an 
Island  between  Hispaniola  and  Porto  Rico; 
where  they  met  with  a  Sloop  called  the  St, 
Anthony,  bound  for  Antega  from  Curaso, 

267 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Mr.  AVm.  Boulton  Merchant,  and  Samuel 
Wood,  Master:  The  men  on  board  then 
swore,  they  would  bring  the  Ship  no  further. 
The  Narrator  then  sent  the  said  Sloop  St. 
Anthony  for  Curaso,  for  Canvas  to  make 
Sails  for  the  Prize,  she  not  being  able  to 
proceed;  and  she  returned  in  Ten  Days;  and 
after  the  Canvas  came,  he  could  not  per- 
suade the  Men  to  carry  her  for  New  Eng- 
land; but  Six  of  them  went  and  carried  their 
Chests  and  Things  on  board  of  Two  Dutch 
Sloops ;  bound  for  Curaso;  and  would  not  so 
much  as  heel  the  Vessel,  or  do  anything,  the 
Remainder  of  the  men  not  being  able  to 
bring  the  Adventure  Prize  to  Boston,  the 
Narrator  secured  her  in  a  good  Harbour  in 
some  Part  of  Hispaniola  and  left  in  the 
Possession  of  Mr.  Ilenry  Boulton  of  An- 
tegua.  Merchant,  the  Maker,  Three  of  the 
old  Men,  and  Fifteen  or  Sixteen  of  the  men 
that  belonged  to  the  said  Sloop  St.  Anthony, 
and  a  Brigantine  belonging  to  one  Mr.  Burt 

of  Curaso. 

268 


APPENDIX    B 

That  the  Narrator  bought  the  said  Sloop 
St.  Anthony  of  Mr.  Boulton,  for  the 
Owner's  Account;  and  after,  he  had  given 
Directions  to  the  said  Boulton  to  be  careful 
of  the  said  Ship  and  Lading,  and  persuaded 
him  to  stay  Three  Months  till  he  returned; 
and  then  made  the  best  of  his  Way  to  New 
York;  where  he  heard  the  Earl  of  Bellamont 
was,  who  was  principally  concerned  in  the 
Adventure  Galley;  and  hearing  his  Lord- 
ship, was  at  Boston,  came  thither;  and  has 
now  been  45  Days  from  the  said  Ship. 

Wm.  Kidd. 

Boston.    7th  July,  1699. 

Further  the  Narrator  saith.  That  the  said 
Ship  was  left  at  St.  Katharina,  on  the  South 
East  Part  of  Hispaniola,  about  Three 
Leagues  to  Leeward  of  the  Westerly  End 
of  Savona:  Whilst  he  lay  at  Hispaniola,  he 
traded  with  Mr.  Henry  Boulton  of  Antegua, 
and  Mr.  Wm.  Burt  of  Curaso,  Merchants, 
to  the  Value  of  11,200  Pieces  of  Eight; 
whereof  he  received  the  Sloop  Antonio  at 

^69 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

3000  Pieces  of  Eight,  and  4200  Pieces  of 
Eight  by  Bills  of  Exchange,  drawn  by 
Boulton  and  Burt  upon  Messieurs  Gabriel 
and  Lemont,  Merchants  in  Curaso,  made 
payable  to  Mr.  Burt,  who  went  himself  to 
Curaso;  and  the  Value  of  4,000  Pieces  of 
Eight  more  in  Dust  and  Bar  Gold;  which 
Gold,  with  some  more  traded  for  at  Mada- 
gascar, being  Fifty  Pounds  Weight,  or  up- 
wards, in  Quantity,  the  Narrator  left  in  Cus- 
tody of  Mr.  Gardner  of  Gardner's  Island, 
near  the  Eastern  End  of  Long  Island,  fear- 
ing to  bring  it  about  by  Sea:  It  is  made  up  in 
a  Bag  put  into  a  little  Box,  locked,  nailed, 
corded  about,  and  sealed:  Saith  he  took  no 
Receipt  for  it  of  Mr.  Gardner. 

The  Gold  that  was  seized  at  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's, the  Narrator,  traded  for  at  Madagas- 
car, with  what  came  out  of  Galley. 

Saith,  That  he  carried  in  the  Adventure 
Galley,  from  New  York,  154  ^len :  Seventy 
whereof  came  out  of  England  with  him. 
Some  of  his    Sloop's   Company   put   Two 

270 


APPENDIX   B 

Bales  of  Goods  on  shore  at  Gardner's  Is- 
land, being  their  own  proper  Goods.  The 
Narrator  delivered  a  Chest  of  Goods,  viz.. 
Muslins,  Latches,  Romalls,  and  flowered 
Silk,  unto  Mr.  Gardner  of  Gardner's  Is- 
land aforesaid,  to  be  kept  there  for  the  nar- 
rator :  Put  no  Goods  on  shore  anywhere  else : 
Several  of  his  Company  landed  their  Chests, 
and  other  Goods,  at  several  Places. 

Further  saith,  He  dehvered  a  small  Bale 
of  coarse  Calicoes  unto  a  Sloop  Man  of 
Rhode  Island,  that  he  had  employed  there. 
The  Gold  seized  at  Mr.  CamphelVs  the  Nar- 
rator intended  for  Presents  to  some,  that  he 
expected  to  do  him  Kindnesses.  Some  of 
his  Company  put  their  Chests  and  Bales  on 
board  a  New  York  Sloop  lying  at  Gardner's 
Island.  • 

Wm.  Kidd. 

Presented  and  taken,  die  praedict  before  his 
Excellency  and  Council. 
Copy  Examined  by 

IsA  Addington,  Secretary. 


271 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

2.  The  Examination  of  William  Jin- 
kins,  Richard  Barlycorne  and  Rob- 
ert LUMLEY 

The  Examination  of  William  Jinkins,  of 
Bow,  near  London,  aged  about  18  years. 
Apprentice  to  Geo.  Bullen,  deceased,  late 
chief  Mate  to  the  Adventure  Galley,  Cap- 
tain Wm.  Kidd,  Commander: 

Who  saith.  That,  some  time  after  Christ- 
mas in  the  Year  1695,  he  sailed  with  the 
said  Adventure  Galley  from  Plymouth,  in 
England;  and  the  said  Galley  made  her 
Course  for  New  York;  took  a  French  Prize 
in  her  way,  which  was  carried  in  with  the 
same. 

That  the  said  Galley,  some  time  after  her 
arrival  at  New  York  sailed  from  thence  to 
Madera;  from  Madera  to  Bonavista  and 
St.  J  ago,  where  they  took  in  Provisions,  and 
steered  for  the  Caye  de  Bon  Esperance,  but 
put  not  in  there;  but  proceeded  for  an  Is- 
land named  Joanna;   staid   there  about  a 

272 


APPENDIX   B 

Week,  took  on  board  some  Water,  and  then 
went  from  thence  to  Mohilla ;  where  the  said 
Galley  was  laid  on  shore  and  cleaned;  and 
then  returned  again  to  the  said  Island  of 
Joanna;  from  whence  the  said  Galley  sailed 
to  Motta  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  there  watered: 
and  then  proceeded  to  a  Place  called  Bobs 
Key,  to  wait  for  Shipping :  And,  during  the 
time  of  their  being  there,  the  Moca  Fleet 
passed  by;  but  the  said  Galley  did  not  en- 
deavour to  come  up  or  speak  with  any  of 
them,  apprehending  they  were  too  strong; 
afterwards  we  spoke  with  a  small  Bark  com- 
ing from  the  Red  Sea,  commanded  by  one 
Parker,  out  of  which  the  Company  belong- 
ing to  the  said  Galley  took  about  a  Bushel  of 
Pepper:  Then  the  said  Galley  went  into  a 
Port  called  Callacut,  where  was  an  English 
Factory;  remained  there  Four  or  Five  Days, 
and  then  went  a  cruising  upon  that  Coast; 
and  sometime  afterwards  gave  Chace  to  a 
Ship  about  150  Tons  Burden,  and,  after 
about  Nine  Hours  Chace,  came  up  with  the 

273 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

same ;  then  Captain  Kidd  ordered  Two  Shot 
to  be  fired  at  the  same,  to  bring  her  to; 
whereupon  she  accordingly  brought  to;  and 
the  Master,  being  a  Dutchman  called  Skip- 
per John  came  on  board :  There  was  belong- 
ing to  the  said  Ship  Three  Dutchmen,  a 
Boy,  and  the  rest  Moors,  between  Twenty 
and  Thirty  in  Number;  the  Dutchmen,  and 
Two  or  Three  Moors,  were  kept  on  board 
the  said  Galley,  and  the  rest  of  the  said 
3Ioors  had  the  Long-boat  given  to  them  to 
go  on  shore,  being  then  about  Two  Leagues 
distant  from  the  same:  the  said  Ship  was 
loaded  with  Cotton,  and  had  two  Horses 
likewise  on  board  the  same;  which  Cotton 
and  Horses  Captain  Kidd  and  his  Company 
sold  to  the  Natives  of  the  Country  for 
Money  and  Gold;  kept  the  said  Ship  with 
them,  the  Galley  being  leaky,  and  carried 
her  to  Madagascar;  When  the  said  Galley 
came  up  with  the  said  Ship,  the  said  Galley 
had  aboard  French  Colours,  and  the  Master 
of  the  said  Ship  brought  on  board  a  French 

274 


APPENDIX   B 

Pass,  having  other  Passes  besides :  The  Time 
when  the  said  Ship  was  taken,  as  above  men- 
tioned, was  about  13  or  14  Months  since, 
about  a  Month  or  Five  Weeks  after  which, 
the  said  Galley  gave  Chace  to  another  Ship ; 
and,  having  chaced  her  about  Four  Hours, 
came  up  with  the  same,  the  said  Galley  hav- 
ing aboard  French  Colours,  and  the  other 
Ship  Armenian;  which  Ship  was  of  the  Bur- 
den of  about  400  Tons,  called  the  Quedah 
Merchant^  and  was  commanded  by  one 
Wright,  an  Englishman,  had  on  board  the 
same.  Two  Dutchmen,  who  were  Mates  of 
the  said  Ship ;  and  a  Frenchman,  who  was  a 
Gunner,  Six  or  Eight  Armenians;  and  the 
rest  of  the  Company  Moors,  being  about 
ninety  in  Number ;  all  of  which  Captain  Kidd 
sent  on  shore  in  the  Boats  that  came  off  from 
thence:  the  said  Ship  came  from  Bengali, 
bound  for  Surrati;  was  mounted  with  16  or 
18  guns;  the  French  Gunner  of  which 
brought  on  board  a  French  Pass,  and  said. 
She  was  a  good  Prize  to  the  English:  the 

275 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

said  Captain  was  loaded  with  Bale  Goods, 
Sugar,  Iron  and  Saltpetre:  Captain  Wright 
who  commanded  the  said  Ship,  declared  she 
was  in  the  employment  of  the  English;  that 
the  Lading  belonged  to  them:  And,  about 
Four  or  Five  Days  after  the  said  Ship  was 
taken  by  the  said  Galley,  Captain  Kidd 
called  the  Company  together,  and  proposed 
to  them  to  return  the  said  Ship  to  those  from 
whom  they  had  taken  her,  or  sell  her  to 
them ;  and  said.  He  would  agree  to  anything 
they  should  do  therein,  were  it  for  the  Value 
of  a  Piece  of  Eight:  Said  also  to  his  Com- 
pany, The  Taking  of  the  said  Ship  would 
make  a  great  Noise  in  England,  and  they 
should  not  know  what  to  do  with  the  Goods 
taken  in  the  same:  But  the  Company  of  the 
Galley  agreed  not  to  the  said  Captain 
Kidd's  Proposal;  but  carried  the  said  Ship 
into  St.  Marie's,  off  Madagascar,  and  there 
unloaded  her,  and  shared;  Whereupon  each 
of  the  said  Galley's  Company,  being  then 
about  115  in  Number,  shared,  one  with  an- 

276 


APPENDIX    B 

other  Three  Bales  and  some  loose  Goods,  be- 
sides about  Two  Thirds  of  a  Bale:  and  Cap- 
tain Kidd  had  Forty  Shares :  The  Bales  con- 
tained Cahcoes,  Romalls,  Muslins,  some 
Silks,  some  striped,  some  flowered,  and  some 
Plain.  After  sharing  of  the  said  Goods, 
Ninety  and  upwards,  of  the  Company  be- 
longing to  the  said  Galley,  deserted  the 
same,  and  went  to  the  Mocha  Frigate,  then 
lying  at  St.  Mane's  aforesaid :  And  the  said 
Captain  Kidd,  with  the  Men  that  remained 
with  him,  carried  their  Shares  on  board  the 
Prize  Ship,  called  the  Quidah  Merchant, 
and  ran  the  said  Galley  on  shore,  being 
very  leaky;  and  having  stript  her  of  her 
Furniture,  set  her  on  Fire  to  get  her  Iron- 
work; and  put  all  that  they  could  save, 
of,  or  belonging  to  the  said  Galley,  on 
board  the  said  Prize  Ship ;  with  which 
the  said  Captain  Kidd,  and  the  men  that 
remained  with  him,  and  some  others  that 
he  had  procured  there,  came  from  St. 
Marie's  aforesaid,  and  arrived  in  some  time 

277 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

afterwards  at  the  Island  of  Anguilla,  in 
the  West  Indies:  Where  being  informed 
that  the  said  Kidd,  and  his  Company,  were 
proclaimed  Pirates,  the  said  Captain  Kidd, 
and  the  men  on  board  with  him,  went  with 
the  said  Ship  to  the  Island  of  St.  Thomas; 
but  the  Governor  of  the  said  Island  would 
not  allow  the  said  Sliip  to  come  in  there: 
Whereupon  we  sailed  to  Mona;  and  there 
met  with  one  Mr.  Bolton,  of  Antegoa,  Mer- 
chant; of  whom  Captain  Kidd  bought  the 
Sloop  Antonio,  in  which  he  lately  came  to 
Boston;  gave,  as  this  Examinant  was  in- 
formed 3000  Pieces  of  Eight  for  the  same, 
and  took  from  out  of  the  Prize  Ship,  into  the 
said  Sloop,  Forty  Bales  of  the  Goods  on 
board  the  said  Ship,  and  about  Thirty  Bales 
of  Sugar ;  and  left  the  said  Ship  at  Hispani- 
ola,  about  Six  or  Seven  Weeks  since  in  the 
Custody  of  the  said  Mr.  Boulton,  and  12 
Men  more:  And  the  said  Captain  Kidd 
promised  to  return  again  to  the  said  Ship, 
in  the  Space  of  Three  Months ;  and  the  said 

278 


APPENDIX   B 

Boulton  promised  to  stay  with  the  same  for 
so  long  time;  Which  Ship  the  said  Captain 
Kidd  left  lying  in  the  River,  in  Hispaniola 
aforesaid,  to  be  reckoned  about  Eighteen 
Leagues  from  Mona. 

The  Examinant  further  saith.  That,  after 
the  said  Galley  had  taken  the  Two  Ships 
before-mentioned,  She  also,  in  her  Passage 
to  St.  Marie's  aforesaid,  took  a  Bark  or 
Ship,  of  the  Burden  of  180  Tons,  with  about 
Seventy  Persons  on  board,  navigated  with 
Portuguez:  She  came  from  Bengali;  and 
was  bound  to  Goa;  and  had  on  board  Ben- 
galls,  Muslins,  Calicoes,  and  other  things, 
which  the  Galley's  Company  began  to  plun- 
der, and  bring  on  board  the  Galley;  but 
seeing  several  Ships  coming  down  towards 
them,  the  said  Galley,  with  the  other  two 
Prizes  she  had  taken,  came  to  sail,  and  left 
the  said  last  Prize  at  a  Place  between  Brin 
John  and  Angingo,  so  called  being  an  Eng- 
lish and  Dutch  Factory,  and  left  on  board 
the  same  all  the  Company  belonging  thereto, 

279 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

except  the  Master,  Merchant,  and  Seven 
Men  more,  that  came  on  board  the  Galley 
when  she  first  took  the  said  Sliip:  And  the 
Vessel  that  was  first  taken  by  the  said  Gal- 
ley, as  before-mentioned,  was,  by  the  said 
Galley's  Company,  sunk  at  St.  Marie's 
aforesaid,  after  they  had  brought  her 
thither. 

And  the  said  William  Jinkins  the  Exami- 
nant  further  saith,  That  whilst  Captain  Kidd 
and  his  Company,  lay  with  the  said  Ship 
Quidah  Merchant  at  Mona  aforesaid,  one 
Burt,  Merchant  of  Curaso,  came  to  them  in 
a  Brigantine,  and  purchased  several  Goods 
of  the  said  Captain  Kidd;  for  which  he  paid 
Part  in  money,  and  Part  in  Flour. 

Further  saith.  That  the  first  Place  that 
the  Sloop  Antonio  aforesaid  touched  at, 
after  the  said  Captain  Kidd,  and  his  Com- 
pany, left  the  said  Ship  at  Mona  aforesaid, 
was  the  Horekills  in  Dellaware  Bay,  where 
the  said  Sloop  staid  Two  Days:  and  one 
James  Gillam,  a  Passenger  that  came  with 

280 


APPENDIX   B 

the  said  Kidd  from  Madagascar,  being  one 
of  the  Mochas  Frigate's  Crew,  sent  his 
Chest  on  shore  there,  being  a  large  chest  and 
heavy ;  which  the  Examinant  supposeth  to  be 
full  of  India  Goods,  and  was  stowed  in  the 
said  Sloop's  Hold  in  the  Passage  from 
Mona:  After  the  said  Sloop  had  staid  at  the 
Horekills  aforesaid  about  Two  Days,  she 
sailed  to  Gardner's  Island,  and  anchored 
there;  where  Captain  Kidd  sent  on  shore 
Two  Bales  of  Goods,  Two  Negro  Boys,  and 
a  Negro  Girl,  and  delivered  them  to  Mr. 
Gardner;  and  were  not  brought  on  board 
the  Sloop  again,  the  Examinant  remaining 
on  board  almost  all  the  time;  neither  was 
anything  more  carried  on  shore,  there,  to 
this  Examinant's  knowledge:  And  there 
was,  in  Company  with  the  said  Sloop  under 
Captain  Kidd's  command,  a  Sloop  said  to 
belong  to  New  York,  whereon  one  Hard- 
rick,  a  Dutchman,  a  young  Man,  was  either 
Skipper,  or  one  of  the  Company ;  into  which 
Sloop  there  was  put  Two  or  more  Bales, 

281 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

One  of  them  being  Bengali  Silks,  all  belong- 
ing to  one  Humphry  Clay,  and  Four  or 
more  Chests  belonging  to  said  Humph 
Clay,  English  Smith,  Gabriel  Luffe,  and 
Martin  Skinke:  This  Examinant  was  in- 
formed, the  said  Sloop  was  bound  on  a  trad- 
ing Voyage  to  Martha's  Vineard,  with 
Rum  and  Fruckin  Cloth;  but,  havmg  re- 
ceived the  said  Bales  and  Chests  on  board, 
did  not  proceed  to  Martha's  Vineard,  but 
went  back  again  for  New  York.  The  said 
Captain  Kidd  and  his  Company,  then  pro- 
ceeded with  his  Sloop  to  Block  Island:  and 
put  nothing  on  shore  there,  only  Two  Guns 
about  Two  or  Three  himdrcd  Weight 
apiece,  which  Captain  Kidd  gave  to  one 
Sands:  Then  the  Sloop  went  to  Tarpolin 
Cove,  where  One  or  more  Bales  of  the  Cap- 
tain's were  put  on  shore,  and  dehvered  to 
the  Man  that  dwells  there. 

And  the  Examinant  saith,  That  nothing 
that  was  i^ut  on  shore  at  any  of  the  Places 
aforesaid,  was,  to  his  Knowledge,  received 

282 


APPENDIX   B 

on  board  the  said  Sloop  again:  and  that 
nothing  was  put  on  shore  at  any  other  Place, 
than  what  is  before-mentioned. 

The  Examinant  further  saith,  That  Cap- 
tain Kidd  traded  with  Mr.  Boulton  and 
Mr.  Burt  aforesaid,  for  the  Quantity  of 
Twenty  Bales  of  Goods  or  thereabouts,  as 
he  supposes ;  besides  what  those  of  his  Com- 
pany with  them:  Six  of  which,  viz.,  Michael 
Callaway,  John  Hales,  John  Beovender, 
Wm.  Boyer,  Neece,  a  Dutchman  and 
Nouter,  a  Dutchman,  went  to  Caracao  in 
Burt's  Brigantine,  and  one  other,  named 
John  Ware,  went  thither  also  in  a  small 
sloop. 

Signed 

William  W.  G.  Jinkins. 

Boston,  6  July,  1699.    Taken 
before  his  Excellency  and 
Council 

IsA  Addington.    Secretary. 

The  foregoing  examination  of  Wm.  Jin- 
kins being  read  unto  Richard  Barlycorne, 

283 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

aged  about  Eighteen  Years,  Apprentice  to 
Captain  Wm.  Kidd, 

He  saith,  That  the  same  is  true,  as  to  the 
Substance  thereof. 

And  further  saith.  That  James  Gillam 
carried  Two  Chests  on  shore  at  the  Hore- 
kills,  which  were  stowed  in  the  Hold  of  the 
Sloop:  After  they  came  from  the  Horekills, 
they  stopt  at  Gardner's  Island;  and  went 
from  thence  to  Oyster  Bay;  there  took  in 
Mr.  Emott  of  New  York;  and  set  him  on 
shore  at  Rhode  Island;  in  some  Days  after- 
wards, Mr.  Emot  returned  to  the  Sloop 
again,  as  she  lay  off  Rhode  Island;  then  they 
went  to  Gardner's  Island;  who  went  from 
thence,  in  a  Whale  Boat,  over  to  Long  Is- 
land: And  at  Gardner's  Island,  Captain 
Kidd  sent  on  shore  there,  Two  Bales  of 
Goods,  a  Box,  and  Two  Negro  Boys,  and  a 
Girl,  committed  to  the  Charge  of  Mr.  Gard- 
ner. The  Examinant  also  sent  Two  Bales 
of  his  own,  and  his  Chest,  on  shore  there;  and 
Dick  the  Black,  another  Bale :  and  one  Rob- 

^84 


APPENDIX   B 

ert  Avery,  a  Passenger  that  came  with  them 
from  Madagascar,  went  on  shore  there,  and 
carried  some  Bundles  of  Mushn,  Silks,  and 
other  Goods  of  liis  own;  and  a  Box  about 
Three  Foot  long,  and  a  Foot  deep:  Knows 
not  what  was  in  it;  It  was  handed  over  the 
Sloop's  Side.  There  was  also  a  Sloop  of 
New  York,  lying  at  Gardner's  Island,  into 
which  there  was  put  about  the  Quantity  of 
15  or  16  Bales  of  Goods,  Whole  or  in  Pieces ; 
and  about  9  or  10  Chests ;  Which  Goods  and 
Chests  belonged  to  Humphry  Clay,  Gabriel 
Luffe,  Samuel  Wood,  Captain  Davis  a 
Passenger,  Martin  Shinhe,  John  Arris,  and 
English  Smith:  The  Sloop  was  full.  From 
Gardner's  Island  we  sailed  to  Block  Island, 
and  there  took  in  Captain  Kidd's  Wife,  and 
one  Mr,  Clark  of  New  York;  and  then  stood 
towards  Gardner's  Island  again,  and  met  a 
New  York  Sloop,  bound  home,  and  put  Mr. 
Clark  on  board  of  her:  And  Captain  Kidd 
put  a  Chest  on  board  said  Sloop :  He  knows 
not  what  was  in  it:  John  Arris  put  another 

285 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

chest  on  board :  and  Wm.  Jinkins,  sl  Bale  of 
Goods;  and  some  other  Bundles,  that  were 
made  out  of  the  Bales,  were  also  put  on 
board  said  Sloop ;  and  all,  as  aforesaid,  com- 
mitted unto  the  said  Mr.  Clark:  The  Cap- 
tain's Chest  was  hoisted  out  of  the  Hold. 
They  stopt  at  Tarpolin  Cove;  and  there  put 
on  shore  One  Bale,  Two  Barrels,  and  a  Box 
of  Goods,  delivered  unto  the  Man  that  dwells 
there:  And,  as  they  came  over  to  Nantinket 
Shoals,  they  met  a  Sloop  from  the  Bay,  com- 
manded by  one  Captain  Way;  which  said 
Way  came  on  board  our  Sloop;  and,  when 
he  went  off  again ;  —  in  his  canoe,  by  Cap- 
tain Kidd's  order,  Two  or  Three  small  arms, 
a  Pendulum  Clock  bought  of  Captain 
Wright,  Commander  of  the  Quidah  Mer- 
chant; a  Pair  of  Stilliards,  and  a  Bag 
about  as  big  as  the  Crown  of  his  Hat, 
sealed  up;  which  the  Examinant  supposes 
to  be  Money. 

Further  the  Examinant  saith,  That,  when 
they  came  from  Hispaniola,  Captain  Kidd 

286 


APPENDIX   B 

told  Mr.  Boulton,  whom  he  left  in  Charge  of 
the  Ship  that  he  would  return  to  him  again 
in  a  short  time,  after  he  had  spoken  with  my 
Lord  Bellamont;  and  that  the  New  York 
Sloop,  whereinto  they  put  the  Goods  at 
Gardner's  Island  as  aforesaid,  was  an  open 
Sloop,  manned  with  Two  Men,  named  Cos- 
ter and  Hendrick:  There  was  Three  Bales 
of  Goods,  and  Two  Bags  of  Sugar,  delivered 
out  of  the  Sloop  Antonio  at  Boston,  unto 
Mr.  Duncan  Campbell.  Saith,  He  knows 
not  what  sum  Captain  Kidd  paid  for  the 
Purchase  of  the  Sloop. 

Richard  Barlycorne. 

Boston.    8th  July  1699:  taken  before  us 

EusHA  Cooke   )  ^  „ 
T       ,  >  J.  rac. 

IsA  Addington  ) 

Boston,  8th  July,  1699. 
The  Two  foregoing  Relations  of  Wm. 
Jinkins  and  Richard  Barlycorne,  being  dis- 
tinctly read  over  to  me  Robert  Laniley,  Ap- 
prentice to  Abel  Owen,  Cook  of  the  Adven- 
ture Galley,  Captain  William  Kidd,  Com- 

287 


THE   REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

mander;  and  I,  having  been  in  the  said  Gal- 
ley tlu'oughout  her  whole  Voyage,  and,  since 
the  Loss  of  her,  in  the  Ship  Quidah  Mer- 
chant, and  Sloop  Antonio,  do  affirm  and 
testify  to  the  Truth  of  the  said  Relations 
respectively,  as  to  the  Substance  of  the 
same,  as  the  several  Articles  thereof. 

Robert  Lumley. 

Taken  before  us. 

EusHA  Cooke  )  ,    ^  „ 
_       .  (  Just  r. 

IsA  Addington  ) 

Copy  examined  by 

IsA  Addington,  Secretary. 

3.  A  Copy  of  the  Examination  of  Hugh 
Parrott,  of  Plymouth  in  the 
County  of  Devon,  Mariner 

Boston.  10th  July,  1699. 
Who  saith,  That,  at  the  Island  of  Joanna, 
he  left  the  Vessel  he  then  belonged  to,  and 
entered  himself  on  board  the  Adventure  Gal- 
ley, Captain  William  Kid,  Commander; 
and  from  thence  we  sailed  to  the  Red  Sea, 
and  there  cruised  for  Privateers  and  Pi- 
'  288 


APPENDIX   B 

rates;  but  finding  none,  went  upon  the 
Coast  of  India,  and  in  our  Cruize  there,  es- 
pied a  Ship,  which  we  gave  chace  to,  and 
came  up  with,  being  a  Ship  of  near  200  Ton 
Burden,  whereof  a  Dutchman,  Mich  Dicker, 
the  Sound:  From  Gardner  s  Island  they 
was  Master,  being  commanded  on  board  the 
Galley,  brought  a  French  Pass,  and  as  the 
Examinant  was  informed,  declared.  That 
his  Ship  and  Lading  was  lawful  Prize ;  and 
accordingly  was  made  Prize  of  by  the  said 
Kidd  and  Company:  The  Dutch  Master  re- 
mained in  the  Galley  with  the  other  Two 
Dutchmen,  and  took  up  Arms  to  serve  un- 
der Captain  Kidd;  the  Moors  were  set  on 
shore,  being  then  not  above  Two  Leagues 
from  the  same;  The  Examinant  knows  not 
what  the  Ship  was  laden  with;  only  saw 
Two  Horses  sent  on  shore  from  her.  And 
in  about  Six  Weeks  time  afterward,  they 
took  another  Ship  of  400  Tons,  or  upwards, 
mounted  with  about  12  or  14  Guns,  com- 
manded by  one  Captain  Wright,  an  Eiig- 

289 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

lishman;  and  there  was  also  on  board  Two 
or  Tliree  Lutchmenj  the  rest  of  the  Com- 
pany were  Armenians  and  Moors  to  the 
Number  of  about  Sixty  or  Seventy:  The 
Ship  came  from  Bengali,  bound  to  Persia, 
as  it  was  said;  and  that  she  belonged  wholly 
to  the  Moors:  She  was  laden  with  Bale- 
Goods,  containing  Muslins,  Silk  striped  and 
plain,  and  raw  Silk,  refined  Sugar  in  Bags, 
Saltpetre,  Iron  in  Junks,  Guns  and  An- 
chors: Captain  Wright  and  other  the 
Christians,  with  several  of  the  Armenians 
and  Moors,  were  speedily  sent  on  shore; 
some  of  them  came  to  Madagascar  in  the 
Galley,  and  there  left  her:  Said,  Captain 
Kidd  carried  the  said  Prize  Ship  into  Mada- 
gascar, Geo.  Bidlen,  Chief  Mate  of  the  Gal- 
ley, being  put  into  command  the  said  Prize 
Ship;  and  when  she  arrived  at  Madagascar, 
they  took  out  of  her  all  the  Bale  Goods,  and 
shared  them  among  the  Galley's  Company, 
being  about  One  hundred  in  Number  more 
or  less;  some  had  Three,  others  Four  Bales 

290 


APPENDIX   B 

to  a  Share;  the  Examinant  has  Four  for  his 
Share,  which  he  sold  at  Hispaniola,  to  Mr. 
Boulton  and  Mr.  Burt,  for  400  Pieces  of 
Eight,  which  was  paid  him  down  in  Money; 
200  Pieces  of  which  he  lost  by  Gaming,  on 
board  the  Sloop  Antonio,  that  he  came  from 
Hispaniola  in;  the  rest  of  his  money  was 
stolen  from  him.  They  arrived  in  the  said 
Sloop,  first,  at  the  Horekills  in  Delaware 
Bay,  where  they  put  out  Two  Chests,  be- 
longing to  James  Gillam,  a  Passenger,  who 
also  went  on  shore  there;  which  Chests,  the 
Examinant  beUeves,  were  full  of  India 
Goods;  From  the  Morekills  they  went  to 
Oyster  Bay  on  Long  Island;  and  there  took 
in  Mr.  Emot  of  New  York,  and  carried  him 
to  Rhode  Island,  and  sent  him  on  shore 
there;  Then  went,  with  their  said  Sloop  to 
Block  Island,  and  put  on  shore  Two  Guns, 
delivered  to  Two  Men  that  came  from  the 
Shore,  and  cruised  between  Block  Island 
and  Rhode  Island  until  Mr.  Emotfs  Re- 
turn; and  having  taken  him  on  board  went 

291 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

to  Gardner's  Island,  and  there  let  him  on 
shore:  And  there  was  landed  at  the  said  Is- 
land, from  out  of  the  Sloop  Antonio,  some 
Goods  and  Chests;  and  also  several  Bales 
and  Chests  were  j^ut  into  another  Sloop  that 
lay  at  the  said  Gardner's  Island  bound  up 
sailed,  with  the  Sloop  Antonio  to  Block  Is- 
land; and  there  took  up  the  Captain's  Wife, 
and  a  Gentleman  that  accompanied  her ;  and 
then  stood  to  Gardner's  Island;  and  there 
put  the  said  Gentleman,  which,  the  Exami- 
nant  thinks,  was  named  Clark,  into  a  Sloop 
boimd  up  the  Sound:  into  which  Sloop,  there 
was  also  several  Bales  and  Chests  put,  out 
of  the  Sloop,  Antonio,  by  Order  of  the  said 
Captain  Kidd:  And  then  we  came  to  Tar- 
jjolin  Cove,  where  there  was  a  Bale  and  one 
or  two  Barrels  of  Goods  landed:  And  from 
thence  we  came  over  the  Shoals,  and  there 
met  a  Sloop  from  Campechea,  bound  to  Bos- 
ton; the  Master  of  which  Sloop,  in  the 
Canoe  belonging  to  her,  came  on  board  our 
Sloop;  and  at  his  going  off  there  was  put 

292 


APPENDIX   B 

into  the  Canoe  a  Turkey  work  Carpet,  Two 
or  Three  Small  Arms;  which  is  all  that  the 
Examinant  took  notice  of. 

The  Examinant  further  saith,  That  at 
their  sharing  at  Madagascar,  Captain  Kidd 
struck  for,  and  received  several  Shares; 
knows  not  how  many ;  there  might  be  Forty. 
They  stript  the  Galley  at  Madagascar,  and 
burnt  her  to  save  her  Iron- work;  and  also 
sunk  their  lesser  Prize  there.  About  Ninety 
of  the  said  Galley's  Company  deserted  at 
Madagascar.  The  greater  Prize  was  called 
the  Quedah  Merchant;  which  they  left  in 
Hispaniola,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Boulton, 
and  about  Seventeen  or  Eighteen  men  to 
assist:  Captain  Kidd  promising  to  return  to 
him  in  a  short  time:  The  Examinant  sup- 
poses there  might  be  about  150  Bales  of 
Goods  remaining  on  board  her,  about 
Eighty  or  Ninety  Tons  of  Sugar,  the  Salt- 
petre, Iron,  Guns  and  Anchors.  Captain 
Kidd  traded  with  Messieurs  Boulton  and 
Burt,  for  a  considerable  Quantity  of  Goods 

293 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

taken  out  of  the  said  Qiiidah  Merchant,  at 
and  about  Hispaniola. 

Hugh  Pareott. 

Taken  before  us,  die  praedici. 

^  Elisha  Cook     )  ,  ^^ 
IsA  Addington) 

Boston,  New  England. 
July  25th,  1699. 

4.  A  Copy  of  the  Examination  of  Ga- 
briel LoFF,  OF  Long  Island,  within 
THE  Province  of  New:  York,  Sea- 
man, 

Who  saith,  That,  in  September  1696,  he 
entered  himself  on  board  the  Adventure 
Galley,  Captain  Kidd  Commander,  as  a 
Foremast-man,  at  New  York;  and  pro- 
ceeded in  the  Galley  from  thence,  first  to 
Madera,  then  to  Bonavista,  St.  Jago,  and 
from  thence  to  Joanna;  and  from  Joanna 
made  their  Course  to  the  Red  Sea  to  cruise 
for  Pirates;  and,  after  some  time  spent 
there,  meeting  with  no  Purchase,  sailed  for 

the  Coast  of  India,  and  cruised  there,  and 

294 


APPENDIX   B 

there  gave  chace  to  a  Ship,  which  shewed 
us  French  Colours,  and  Moorish  Colours, 
and  some  others;  and  after  some  Chace, 
came  up  with  her:  Captain  Kidd  com- 
manded the  Commander  of  her  to  come  on 
board;  who  accordingly  did:  The  Exami- 
nant  knows  not  what  Nation  he  was  of;  but 
he  brought  a  French  Pass,  and  told  Captain 
Kidd,  That  his  Ship  was  a  Prize  and  Cap- 
tain Kidd  made  Prize  of  her,  and  her  Lad- 
ing: She  was  about  150  Tons  in  Burden, 
laden  with  Cotton  Wool,  Bees  Wax,  To- 
bacco and  Two  Horses :  The  company  were 
chiefly  Moors;  —  only  Three  Christians;  — 
he  knows  not  the  Number;  the  Christians 
remained  in  the  Galley,  and  took  up  Arms 
there ;  The  Moors  were  sent  on  shore.  Soon 
after  the  Taking  of  this  Ship,  the  Exami- 
nant  was  taken  sick,  and  lay  so  most  of  the 
Voyage:  Knows  not  what  they  did  with  the 
Lading:  The  Ship  they  carried  to  Madagas- 
car; and  there  sunk  her.  Some  weeks  after 
the  Taking  of  the  said  Ship,  they  took  an- 

295 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

other  Sliip,  at  the  Coast  of  India,  of  Burden 
of  400  Tons,  or  upwards,  commanded  by  one 
Wright,  an  Englishman;  which  Ship  came 
from  Bengali:  The  Ship  was  cliiefly  manned 
with  Moors  and  Armenians:  There  was 
Three  Christians  on  board. 

The  Examinant  further  saith,  They  car- 
ried the  said  Ship  and  Lading  with  them 
to  Madagascar;  and  there  landed  all  the 
Bale-goods  on  board,  consisting  of  Callicoes, 
Muslins,  Silk,  and  White,  striped  and  plain, 
Romalls,  Bengalis,  and  Laches:  There  fell 
betwixt  Three  and  Four  Bales  to  a  Share: 
The  Examinant  had  Three  whole  Bales  and 
a  Piece  of  a  Bale,  to  his  Share:  some  of 
which  he  disposed  of  at  Madagascar,  to  buy 
Provisions;  and  left  some  in  the  Ship;  the 
Remainder  he  had  in  his  own  Chest,  and 
some  in  Martin  Skinke's  Chest ;  which  Chests 
were  put  on  board  a  New  York  Sloop  in 
the  Sound,  commanded  by  one  Coster,  and 
committed  to  his  Care,  to  be  carried  to  New 
York:  Captain  Kidd  had  Forty  odd  Shares 

296 


APPENDIX   B 

for  himself,  and  his  Ship;  most  of  his  men 
deserted.  At  St.  Marie's^  a  difference  arose 
between  the  Captain  and  his  Company; 
Captain  Kidd  proposing  to  them  to  take 
the  Mocha  Frigate j  which  lay  there;  but  the 
generality  of  the  men  refused,  saying.  They 
would  sooner  shoot  him  than  into  the  said 
Mocha  Frigate:  And  they  went  aboard  the 
said  Frigate. 

Further  the  Examinant  saith.  That  the 
aforesaid  Ship,  commanded  by  Captain 
Wright,  and  taken  by  Captain  Kidd  in  the 
Seas  of  India,  was  called  the  Quiddah  Mer- 
chant: And  that  the  said  Kidd,  and  his 
Company  that  remained  with  him,  bought 
the  said  Ship  from  Madagascar  into  Hispan- 
iola,  in  the  West  Indies;  and  there  the  said 
Captain  Kidd  traded  with  Two  Persons, 
named  Boulton  and  Burt,  for  some  of  the 
Bale-goods,  which  were  delivered  out  of  the 
Ship :  And  Captain  Kidd  bought  a  Sloop  of 
the  said  Mr.  Boulton,  and  laded  the  said 
Sloop  with  Bale-goods  taken  out  of  the  said 

297 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Ship  for  so  much  as  he  could  conveniently 
stow,  and  lodge  the  men  besides :  The  Num- 
ber of  Bales  he  knows  not :  And,  leaving  the 
said  Boulton,  with  Seventeen  or  Eighteen 
men,  on  board  the  Ship,  the  said  Captain 
Kidd,  with  several  of  his  Company,  pro- 
ceeded in  the  said  Sloop  towards  New  York; 
and  the  Discourse  was.  That  Captain  Kid 
was  to  return  to  the  Ship  again  within  the 
Space  of  Three  Months;  And,  after  their 
Departure  from  Hispaniola  they  arrived, 
with  the  said  Sloop,  first  at  Horekills  in 
Delaware  Bay,  where  they  landed  a  Chest 
belonging  to  one  James  Gillam,  a  Passen- 
ger with  them  from  Madagascar:  Knows  not 
what  was  in  it :  And  from  the  Horekills  they 
sailed  with  the  said  Sloop  into  the  Sound, 
and  put  some  Goods  on  shore  at  Gardner's 
Island;  the  Quantity  the  Examinant  knows 
not:  Also  put  some  Goods  and  Chests  on 
board  the  New  York  Sloop,  one  Coster, 
Master,  then  lying  at  said  Gardner's  Island: 
And  also  put  a  Pack  of  Goods  on  shore  at 

298 


APPENDIX   B 

Tarpolin  Cove.  Whilst  they  lay  with  the 
said  Sloop  off  Rhode  Island,  James  Gillam, 
before-named,  went  on  shore  in  a  Boat,  that 
came  on  board  the  same  Sloop;  Knows  not 
from  whence  the  said  Boat  came,  nor  who 
she  belonged  to. 

Gabeiel  Loff. 

Taken,  die  praedict  before  us 

Elisha  Cooke  )  ^  t. 
T       A  (J'  A ac. 

ISA  ADDmOTON) 

Copy  examined  per 
J.  Addington,  Secretary. 

5.  The  Depositions  of  Abel  Owen, 
Mariner  of  Full  Age,  late  Cook 
OF  the  "  Adventure  Galley,"  Cap- 
tain Wm.  Kidd,  Commander;  and 
Samuel  Arris,  Mariner,  late  Stew- 
ard of  the  same  Ship,  of  full  Age; 
Depose  and  testify,  as  followeth, 
viz.. 

That  the  said  Ship  was  launched  at  Dept- 
ford  at  Castle's  Yard,  about  the  4th  Day  of 
December  J,  1695:  And  that  the  said  Ship 

299 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

came  to  the  Buoy  and  Nore  about  the  lat- 
ter End  of  February;  and  about  the  First 
Day  of  March  the  men  were  pressed  from 
on  board  the  said  Galley  for  the  Fleet;  and 
she  was  staid  about  Nineteen  Days,  and 
there  sailed  for  the  Douncs;  and,  about  the 
Eighth  or  Tenth  Day  of  April  arrived  there; 
and  thence  sailed  for  Plimouth;  and,  on  the 
25th  Day  of  the  Month  of  Aiml  1696,  the 
said  Ship  sailed  from  Plymouth;  and,  some- 
time in  the  Month  of  Blay^  met  with  a  small 
French  Vessel,  bound  for  Newfoundland, 
which  they  took,  and  made  Prize  of,  and 
carried  the  same  into  New  York  about  the 
4th  Day  of  July  following;  and  the  same 
was  condemned  there  as  lawful  Prize:  And 
that,  about  the  6th  Day  of  September  then 
also  following,  the  said  Galley  sailed  for  the 
Maderas;  and  thence  to  Bonavista;  thence  to 
St.  Jago;  thence  to  Telere,  and  the  Island  of 
Madagascar;  thence  to  Johanna,  thence  to 
Mehila,  where  they  buried  about  Fifty  of 
their  Men  in  the  Month  of  May  1697;  and 

300 


APPENDIX   B 

thence  sailed  upon  the  Coast  of  India;  and, 
returning  back  to  St.  Marie's  the  Ship  was 
all  along  so  leaky,  that  they  feared  she  would 
have  sunk  every  Hour;  and  that  it  required 
Eight  Men  every  Two  Glasses,  to  keep  her 
free;  and  were  forced  to  woold  her  round 
with  Cables,  to  keep  her  together ;  and,  with 
much  ado,  kept  her  above  Water,  and  car- 
ried her  into  the  said  Port  of  St.  Marie's. 

And  that  they  took  Two  Vessels,  wliich 
they  carried  into  the  said  Port ;  and  the  Men, 
which  afterwards  deserted  the  Galley,  sunk 
one  of  them  there;  and  threatened  the  Cap- 
tain, and  these  Deponents,  and  others,  now 
arrived  here,  to  sink  the  other,  that  they 
might  not  go  thence  to  tell  News :  And  that 
about  Ninety  of  the  said  Galley's  Crew  de- 
serted the  same  there;  and  that  the  said 
Galley  proved  so  insufficient  and  leaky,  that 
she  possibly  could  not  be  repaired ;  and  sunk 
at  an  Anchor  in  the  same  Port. 

And  these  Deponents  further  testify, 
That  there  was  in  the  said  Port  a  Pirate 

301 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

called  the  Mocha  Frigate :  And  the  said  Cap- 
tahi  Kidd  proposed  to  his  ISIen  to  take  the 
same,  having  sufficient  Power  so  to  do;  but 
the  said  Deserters,  then  being  on  board,  told 
the  said  Captain  Kidd,  That,  if  he  of- 
fered the  same,  they  would  fire  Two  Guns 
into  him,  rather  than  One  into  the  Other ;  and 
immediately  deserted  the  said  Galley,  and 
went  on  board  the  Mocha  Frigate. 

And  these  Deponents  also  further  Depose, 
That  with  what  Guns,  Powder,  and  Sails, 
the  said  Captain  Kidd  could  save  out  of  the 
said  Galley  from  the  Violence  of  the  said 
Deserters,  he  purchased,  at  least,  between 
Thirty  and  Forty  Bales  of  Goods,  which  he 
has  brought  in  the  Sloop  St.  Antonio  into 
this  Port,  for  the  Use  of  the  Owners  of  the 
said  Galley. 

His 
Abel  O  Owen 
Mark 

English  Smith,  and  Humphry  Clay,  Mar- 
iners, of  full  age,  lately  belonging  to  the 

302 


APPENDIX   B 

said  Adventure  Galley,  testify,  That  they; 
sailed  in  the  same  from  New  York  on  the 
time  before  specified:  and  testify  to  the 
Truth  of  the  above-written  Deposition 
from  that  time:  And  that  the  Goods,  now 
on  board  the  said  Sloop  St.  Antonio,  were 
purchased,  as  aforesaid,  for  the  Use  of  the 
Owners  of  the  said  Galley. 

English   Smith 
Humphry  Clay. 

Hugh  Parrat  Mariner,  of  a  full  Age,  also 
deposeth.  That  he  went  on  board  the  Gal- 
ley at  Johanna;  and  testifies  to  the  Truth  of 
the  above-written  Deposition  from  that 
time;  and  that  the  Goods  now  on  board  the 
said  Sloop  St.  Antonio  were  purchased,  as 
aforesaid,  for  the  Use  of  the  Owners  of  the 
said  Galley. 

Hugh  Parratt. 

The  Five  Deponents  within-named,  did 
severally  declare,  That,  whereas,  in  their 
within  written  Affidavits,  they  speak  of  the 

303 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Taking  of  Two  Vessels,  they  do  further  ex- 
plain tliemselv^es ;  and  testify,  That  the  said 
Two  Vessels  were  Moorish  Ships,  and  taken 
by  them  upon  the  coast  of  India:  One  of 
them  of  Burden  betwixt  Four  and  Five 
Plundred  Tons,  the  other  about  Two  Hun- 
dred Tons;  They  surrendered  to  them  with- 
out firing  any  Gunns  at  them:  The  greater 
Ship  came  from  Bengali;  the  lesser  Ship 
came  from  Surratt:  The  smaller  Ship  was 
taken  in  November  1697;  the  greater  Ship 
in  February  following:  The  Master,  Gun- 
ner and  Boatswain  of  the  smaller  Ship  were 
Dutchmen,  the  rest  of  the  Company  were 
Moors,  being  about  Forty  in  Number  in  the 
Whole:  Her  Lading  consisted  of  some  Per- 
sian Silks  and  other  Dry  Goods  with  some 
Horses.  The  Three  Dutchmen  afterwards 
took  up  Arms  on  board  the  Galley:  The 
greater  of  the  Two  Ships  is  the  same  that 
they  lately  left  at  Ilispaniola:  She  had 
about  Ninety  men  on  board:  She  was  com- 
manded by  an  Englishman  named  Wright- 

304 


APPENDIX   B 

The  Mate  and  Gunner  were  Dutch;  all  the 
rest  of  the  Company  were  Moors:  She  was 
mounted  with  Ten  Guns;  and  laden  with 
Bengali  Goods. 

The  Deponents  further  say,  They  met 
with  the  Mocha  Frigate  at  the  Port  of  St. 
Marie's;  and  the  Company  belonging  to  her 
took  the  Companies  belonging  to  the  afore- 
said Two  Ships,  forcibly,  from  on  board  the 
Adventure  Galley;  and  Ninety  of  the  Com- 
pany of  the  said  Galley  there  also  left  her, 
and  entered  themselves  on  board  the  said 
Mocha  Frigate;  having  first  plundered  the 
Two  Ships  before-named,  and  taken  out  of 
them  a  considerable  Quantity  of  Goods  and 
disposed  of  them  at  their  pleasure. 

(Signed) 
Abel  O.  Owen 
Sam  Arris 
English  Smith 
Humph  Clay 
Hugh  Parratt. 

Boston,  4th  July,  1699 

305 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN   KIDD 

The  Five  Deponents  within-named,  and 
subscribed  to  this  Affidavit,  severally  made 
Oath  to  the  Truth  of  this  their  Deposition, 
before  his  Excellency  the  Governor  and 
Council. 

Copy  Examd.  per  Isa  Addington,  Secretary. 


306 


'APPENDIX    C 


The  French  Passes  sent  to  Bellamont  by  Kidd,  inchided 
amongst  the  papers  ordered  by  the  House  of  Commons  to 
be  delivered  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty  for  the 
purposes  of  Kidd's  trial. 

Pass.  No.  1.   Pass  taken  on  board   the  Quedagh  or 

Karry  Merchant  ("le  Navire  Cara") 
Pass.  No.  2.    Pass    taken    on    board    Kidd's    other 

prize.     Copies  of  these  passes  will  be  found  in  the  13th 

Volume  of  the  Journals  of    the  House  of  Commons, 

page  21. 


APPENDIX   C 

A  COPY  OF  THE  FRENCH  PASS. 

No.  1. 

De  Par  Le  Roy. 

Nous  Francois  Martin,  escuir,  conseiller 
du  Roy,  directeur  general  du  Commerce 
pour  la  Royalle  compagnie  de  France  dans 
la  royaume  de  Bengalle,  coste  de  Coroman- 
delle,  et  autres  lieux  a  tons  ceux  qui  ces 
presentes  lettres  verront,  salut.  Les 
nommes  Coja  Ouannesse  et  Coja  Jacob 
Armenien,  Nacodas  du  navire  Cara^  Mar- 
chand,  que  le  nomme  Agapiris,  Kalender 
Marchand  Armenien  a  Strete  a  Surate  du 
nomme  Cohergy  Nannabaye  Parsy,  le  dit 
navire  du  port  de  trois  cent  cinquante  ton- 

^  The  Quedagh  Merchant  was  spoken  of  by  some  of  the 
witnesses  at  the  trial  and  in  Cogi  Babba's  relation  as  the 
Karry  Merchant. 

309 


ri^ 


THE    REiVL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

neaux,  ou  environ,  sur  lequel  est  j)ilote  Rette 
tandel  ou  Besseman  Ginannatou  et  ecrivain 
Gassou;  nous  ayants  remontre,  quayante 
pris,  avant,  leur  depart  de  Surate,  un  passe- 
port  de  la  compagnie,  qu'ils  nous  ont  re- 
presente  en  datte  du  premier  Janvier  mil  six 
cents  nonante  sept,  signe  Martin;  et  plus 
bas,  de  Grangemont;  qu'ils  apprehendoient 
d'etre  inquietez  dans  le  voyage  qu'ils  doi- 
vent  faire  de  ce  port  a  celuy  de  Surate, 
sous  pretexte  que  le  dit  passeport  est  fur- 
anne  et  qu'ainsy  ils  nous  privient  instem- 
ment  de  leur  en  faire  un  novent :  a  ces  causes 
recommendons  a  tous  ceux,  qui  sont  sous 
I'autorite  de  la  compagnie,  prions  les  chefs 
d'escadres,  et  commandons  des  vaisseaux  de 
sa  majeste,  requirons  tous  les  amis  et  aliez 
de  la  Couronne,  de  n'apporter  aucun  em- 
pechement,  qui  puisse  retarder  son  voyage; 
ains  luy  donner  toutes  sortes  d'aydes,  et 
d'assistance;  i^romettant  en  cas  pareil  faire 
semblable.  En  foy  du  quoy,  nous  avons 
signe  ces  presentes.     Fait  contresigner,  par 

310 


APPENDIX   C 

le  secretaire  de  la  compagnie;  et  a  icelle  ap- 
poser  le  sceau  de  ces  armes,  au  comptoir  gen- 
eral D'ongly,  le  quatorze  Janvier  mil  six 

cent  nonante  huit. 

Martin. 

Par  mon  dit  Sieur  Desprez. 

No.  2. 

De  Par  Le  Roy. 

Nous  Jean  Baptiste  Martin,  directeur 
general  de  la  royalle  compagnie  de  France 
des  Indes  Orientalles,  a  tous  ceux  qui  ces 
presentes  lettres  verront,  salut.  Savoir- 
fasons  que  le  nomme  Vamel  das  Narendas, 
marchand  de  Baroche,  desirant  envo5''er  son 
navire  nomme  Rouparelle  du  pont  de  cent 
cinquante  tonneaux  ou  environ,  partant  du 
part  de  Baroche,  pour  aller  a  Malabare, 
Bengalle  et  Bassora,  commande  par  le  Na- 
coda  Abdel  Reyin,  sur  lequel  est  pilate 
Issac  Condel,  ou  Bosseman  Joquy,  et  ecri- 
vain  Dalet  Mamet,  nous  auroit  justemment 
prie  de  lui  donner  notre  passeport:   ce  que 

311 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

nous  luy  avons  octroye:  a  ces  causes  or- 
donnons  a  tous  ceux  qui  sont  sous  notre 
autorite,  prions  les  commandants  des  navires 
de  sa  Majeste,  de  I'ayder  et  secourir  en  tout 
ce  qu'il  aura  besoin  si  leur  ordres  ne  sont 
contraires,  et  de  faire  saisir  comme  desert- 
eurs,  les  Francois,  qui  seroient  dessus  sans 
conge,  par  ecrit  de  messieurs  les  directeurs 
generaux  de  Bengalle  ou  de  nous,  et  re- 
quirons  a  tous  nos  amiz  et  aliez  de  n'appor- 
ter  aucun  empechement,  qui  puisse  retarder 
son  voyage :  ains  au  contraire  de  lu}^  donner 
toute  ayde  et  secours:  promettont  en  cas 
pareil,  faire  semblable.  En  foy  de  quoy 
nous  avons  signe  ces  presentes.  Fait  contre 
signer  par  le  secretaire  de  la  ditte  compagnie 
et  a  icelles  apposer  le  sceau  de  ces  armes. 
Fait  a  comptoir  de  S urate  le 

Martin. 


312 


APPENDIX    D 


APPENDIX   D 

Report  of  Duncan  Campbell  Postmaster  of  Boston* 
TO  Bellamont 

Boston,  June  the  19th  1699. 

The  Memorial  of  Duncan  Campbell,  of  Boston,  hum- 
bly presented  to  his  Excellency  the  Earl  of  Bellamont. 

I,  the  said  Duncan  Campbell,  being  at 
Rhode  Island  on  Saturday  the  17th  June 
current ;  that  Morning  I  went  in  a  Sloop,  in 
Company  with  Mr.  James  Emott  of  New 
York,  and  Two  other  Men  belonging  to  the 
said  Sloop,  towards  Block  Island;  and, 
about  Three  Leagues  from  that  Island,  I 
met  a  Sloop  commanded  by  Captain  Kidd, 
and  having  on  board  about  Sixteen  men 
besides :  after  hailing  of  which  Sloop,  and  be- 
ing informed,  That  the  said  Kidd  was  Com- 
mander thereof,  he  the  said  Kid  desired  me 
to  come  on  board  the  same;  which  I  accord- 

315 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

ingly  did ;  and,  after  some  Discourse  passed, 
the  said  Kidd  desired  me  to  do  him  the  Fa- 
vour as  to  make  what  Speed  I  could  for  Bos- 
ton, and  acquaint  your  Excellency,  That 
the  said  Kid  had  brought  a  Ship,  about  5 
or  600  Tons  from  Madagascar,  which  some 
considerable  time  since  he  met  within  .  .  . 
and  commanded  her  there  to  bring  to;  and 
that  thereupon  the  Pilot,  being  a  French- 
man, came  on  board  the  said  Kid's  Ship, 
and  told  him,  the  said  Kidd,  He  was  wel- 
come, and  that  the  said  Ship,  to  which  the 
said  Pilot  belonged,  was  a  lawful  Prize  to 
him,  the  said  Kidd,  she  sailing  under  a 
French  pass,  whereupon  he,  the  said  Kid, 
and  Company,  took  the  said  Ship ;  and  after- 
wards, understanding  that  the  same  be- 
longed to  the  Moors,  he,  the  said  Kid, 
would  have  delivered  her  up  again;  but  his 
Men  violently  fell  upon  him  and  thrust  him 
into  his  Cabin,  saying,  The  said  ship  was  a 
said  Prize  (sic) ;  and  then  carried  her  into 
Madagascar,  and  rifled  her  of  what  they 

S16 


APPENDIX   D 

pleased :  But  before  they  got  into  Madagas- 
car, the  Galley  under  Command  of  him,  the 
said  Kidd,  became  so  leaky,  that  she  would 
scarce  keep  above  Water;  whereupon  the 
Company  belonging  thereto,  having  taken 
out  her  Guns,  and  some  other  Things,  and 
put  them  on  board  the  Prize,  set  the  said 
Galley  on  Fire. 

The  said  Captain  Kidd  further  told  me, 
That,  when  he  and  his  Company  were  ar- 
rived at  Madagascar  several  of  his  Company 
moved  him  to  go  and  take  a  Ship  called  the 
Moca  Frigate,  that  lay  ready  fitted  at  a 
Place  not  far  distant  from  them,  in  the  Pos- 
session of  certain  Privateers;  and  to  go  in 
the  same  for  the  Red  Sea;  but  that  he  the 
said  Kid  said.  That  if  they  would  join  with 
him,  he  would  attempt  the  Taking  of  the 
said  Ship,  supposing  her  a  lawful  Prize,  be- 
ing formerly  belonging  to  the  King  of  Eng- 
land; but  would  not  afterwards  go  with 
them  on  the  said  Design  to  the  Red  Sea: 
Whereupon  Ninety  of  his,  the  said  Kidd's 

317 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Men,  deserted  him,  went  and  took  the  said 
Ship,  and  sailed  with  the  same  on  the  said 
Design,  as  he,  the  said  Kid,  was  informed; 
obhging  one  Captain  Culliver,  the  then  Com- 
mander of  her,  to  go  along  with  them. 

And  the  said  Kidd  further  told  me,  That 
his  Men  having  left  him,  and  his  Design 
frustrated,  he  thought  it  his  best  Way  to 
preserve  the  said  Ship  then  in  his  Posses- 
sion, and  the  Goods  on  board  her,  for  his 
Employers,  or  the  proper  Owners  thereof: 
And  accordingly,  with  the  few  Men  he  had 
then  left,  which  would  not  join  with  the 
other  Ninety  in  their  aforesaid  Design,  be- 
ing about  Twenty  in  Number,  and  with  a 
few  other  men,  that  he  procured  at  Mada- 
gascar, to  assist  him  in  navigating  the  said 
Ship,  he  intended  to  have  brought  the  same 
to  Boston,  according  to  his  Orders;  but, 
touching  in  his  Way  at  the  Island  of  St. 
Tliomas,  and  other  Places  in  the  West  In- 
dies, he  there  heard.  That  great  Complaints 
were  preferred  against  him,   and  he  pro- 

318 


APPENDIX   D 

claimed  a  Pirate;  which  occasioned  liim  to 
sail  to  a  Place  called  Mona,  near  Hispani- 
ola:  from  whence  he  sent  to  Curaso,  and 
brought  there  the  Sloop  on  which  he  is  now 
on  board,  and  took  into  her  to  the  Value  of 
about  8  or  10,000Z  in  Goods,  Gold,  and 
Plate:  for  wliich  Gold  and  Plate  he  traded 
at  Madagascar,  and  was  produced  by  the 
Sale  of  sundry  Goods  and  Stores,  that  he 
took  out  of  the  Adventure  Galley,  formerly 
commanded  by  him;  and  hath  left  the  Ship 
taken  by  his  Company,  and  carried  to  Mad- 
agascar, as  aforesaid,  at  or  near  Mona 
abovesaid,  in  the  Custody  of  about  Six  Men 
of  his  own  Company,  and  Eighteen  others 
that  he  got  from  Curaso;  the  Merchant  of 
whom  he  bought  the  said  Sloop,  being  in- 
trusted therewith;  unto  which  he  had  prom- 
ised to  return  again  in  Three  Months;  the 
said  Kidd  resolving  to  come  into  Boston  or 
Ne*(Jii  York,  to  deliver  up  unto  your  Excel- 
lency what  Goods  and  Treasure  he  hath  on 
board;  and  to  pray  your  Excellency's  Assis- 

319 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

tance,  to  enable  him  to  bring  the  said  Ship 
left  by  him  at  Mona  aforesaid,  from  thence; 
the  said  Ship  being  disabled  from  coming  for 
want  of  Furniture. 

But  the  said  Captain  Kidd  further  in- 
formed me,  That  by  reason  of  what  his  Men 
had  heard  in  the  West  Indies,  as  aforesaid, 
of  their  being  proclaimed  Pirates,  they 
would  not  consent  to  his  coming  into  any 
Port  without  some  Assurance  from  j^our 
Excellency,  That  they  should  not  be  impris- 
oned nor  molested:  And  the  said  Captain 
Kidd  did  several  times  protest  solemnly. 
That  he  had  not  done  anything  since  his  go- 
ing out  in  the  said  Galley  contrary  to  his 
Commission  or  Orders,  more  than  what  he 
was  necessitated  unto,  being  overpowered  by 
his  Men  that  deserted  him,  as  aforesaid ;  who 
evil-intreated  him  several  times  for  his  not 
consenting  to,  or  joining  with  them  in,  their 
Actions:  And  all  the  men  on  board  the 
Sloop  now  with  him  did,  in  like  manner, 
solemnly  protest  their  Innocence;  and  de- 

320 


APPENDIX   D 

clared,  That  they  had  used  their  utmost  En- 
deavours in  preserving  the  aforesaid  Ship 
and  Goods  for  the  Owners  or  Employers. 

The  said  Kidd  also  saith,  That,  if  your 
Lordship  should  see  Cause  so  to  direct,  he 
would  carry  the  said  Ship  for  England, 
there  to  render  an  Account  of  his  Proceed- 
ings. 

Which  beforegoing  contains  the  Particu- 
lars of  what  Captain  Kidd  and  his  Men  re- 
lated to 

Your  Lordship's  most  humble  Servant 

Duncan  Campbell. 


321 


APPENDIX    E 


APPENDIX   E 

Extracts  Relating  to  Bellamont  and  Kidd  from 
Narcissus  Luttrell's  Brief  Historical  Relation 
OF  State  Affairs  from  September,  1678,  to  April, 
1714. 

1  April  1693.  A  patent  is  passing  the 
seals  for  settling  £500  per  annum  on  the 
Lord  Bellamont  in  consideration  of  his 
past  services.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  67. 

11  June  1695.  The  Lords  Justices  have 
given  order  for  passing  a  Commission  for 
the  Lord  Bellamont  to  be  Governor  for 
New  England.    Vol.  Ill,  p.  483. 

25  June  1695.  Lord  Bellamont  is  hasten- 
ing to  his  government  of  New  England. 

Vol.  Ill,  p.  489. 
4  July  1695.    The  Lord  Bellamont's  war- 
rant for  his  patent  runs  to  be  Governor, 
Captain  General  and  Admiral  of  New 
England.     Vol.  Ill,  p.  494. 
29  Aug.   1695.    Complaint  being  made  to 

325 


THE    HEAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

the  Committee  of  foreign  plantations 
against  Fletcher,  governor  of  New 
York,  'tis  said  the  Council  will  annex 
that  government  to  that  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  that  Lord  Bellamont  goes 
governor  of  both. 

12  May  1696.  The  Lord  Bellamont  has  ob- 
tained a  grant  of  £1,000  per  annum  out 
of  the  estate  of  Lord  Kilmeare  (for- 
merly Sir  Valentine  Brown).  Vol.  IV, 
p.  57. 
7  Jan.  1697.  The  Lord  Bellamont,  'tis 
said,  will  not  only  be  governor  of  New 
England,  but  also  of  New  York.  Vol. 
IV,  p.  166. 

18  March  1697.  On  Tuesday  the  Lord  Bel- 
lamont was  declared  governor  of  New 
England,  and  ordered  to  hasten  thither. 
Vol.  IV,  p.  198. 

20  March  1697.  The  Lord  Bellamont  is 
made  governor  of  New  York  and  New 
Hamstead  ^  as  well  as  New  England  and 

^  Probably  a  misprint  for  New  Hampshire. 

326 


APPENDIX   E 

Colonel  of  a  regiment  of  foot.  Vol.  IV, 
p.  199. 
5  June  1697.  The  Lord  Bellamont's  com- 
mission to  be  governor  and  captain  gen- 
eral of  New  England  and  New  York  is 
passing  the  seals,  and  his  Lordship  will 
suddenly  goe  to  his  government  in  the 
Deptford  frigate.    Vol.  IV,  p.  235. 

11  Sept.  1697.  The  lords  of  the  treasury 
have  paid  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  gov- 
ernor of  New  England,  £12000  in  mault 
lottery  tickets.  Vol.  IV,  p.  227. 
4  Oct.  1697.  This  day  the  Earl  of  Bella- 
mont, governor  of  New  England,  went 
on  shipboard.    Vol.  IV,  p.  285. 

24  Nov.  1698.  The  East  India  Company 
have  acquainted  the  lords  justices  with 
the  action  of  Captain  Kidd,  commander 
of  a  man  of  war,  sent  to  suppress  the  py- 
rates  in  the  Persian  seas,  but  instead 
thereof  joyned  them.  Several  great 
lords  were  concerned  in  sending  him 
out,    and    to    be    sharers    of    what    he 

327 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

should  take  from  those  pyrates.  Vol. 
IV,  p.  454. 
29  Nov.  1698.  A  proclamation  is  ordered  to 
be  published  to  pardon  all  the  pyrates 
settled  at  Madagascar  except  Captain 
Kidd  and  3  others,  provided  they  sub- 
mit within  a  certain  time:  which  procla- 
mation Cai^tain  Warren  takes  with  liim. 
Vol.  IV,  p.  456. 
3  Dec.  1698.  The  Earl  of  Bellamont,  gov- 
ernor of  New  England  and  New  York 
has  sent  advice  that  he  has  caused  several 
persons  to  be  arrested  there,  accused  for 
corresponding  and  trading  with  the 
pyrates  at  Madagascar,  by  which  means 
they  have  got  great  riches.  Vol.  IV, 
p.  457. 
1  Aug.  1699.  We  have  a  report  that  Cap- 
tain Kidd,  who  some  time  since  turned 
pyrate  in  the  Adventure  Galley  and  took 
from  the  subjects  of  the  Great  Mogull 
and  others  to  the  value  of  £400,000  is 
taken  prisoner  by  a  French  Ship,  the 

328 


APPENDIX   E 

commander  of  which  sent  him  in  irons 
to  the  Great  MogiiU.    Vol.  IV,  p.  543. 

3  Aug.  1699.  We  now  have  letters  from 
the  West  Indies,  which  contradict  the 
taking  of  Captain  Kidd  the  pyrate:  and 
say  that  after  the  Adventure  Galley  was 
sunk,  he  went  on  board  a  Portuguese, 
and  sailed  directly  for  Darien  where  the 
Scots  received  him  and  all  his  riches. 
Vol.  IV,  p.  544. 

5  Aug.  1699.  Captain  Kidd  the  pjTate 
some  time  since  said  to  be  taken  by  a 
French  man  of  war,  afterwards  contra- 
dicted and  that  he  was  gone  to  Darien, 
we  now  hear  was  at  Nassau  Island,  near 
New  York,  and  sent  for  Mr.  Livingston, 
one  of  the  Council  there,  to  come  on 
board:  accordingly  he  went  to  him,  and 
he  proffered  £30,000  to  give  the  owners, 
who  first  fitted  out  the  Adventure  Gal- 
ley, and  £20,000  for  his  pardon :  but  'tis 
presumed  the  same  will  not  be  accepted. 
Vol.  IV,  p.  545. 

329 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

17  Aug.  1699.  Letters  from  Curassau  say 
that  the  famous  pyrate  Captain  Kidd,  in 
a  ship  of  30  guns  and  250  men  offered 
the  Dutch  Governor  of  St.  Thomas 
45,000  pieces  of  eiglit  in  gold  and  a  great 
present  in  goods,  if  he  would  protect 
him  a  month,  which  he  refused:  but  the 
said  pyrate  bought  afterwards  of  an 
English  Ship  provisions  to  the  value  of 
25,000  crowns  and  since  supplyed  with 
necessaries  from  other  ships.  Vol.  IV, 
p.  549. 

22  Aug.  1699.  There  are  letters  which  say 
the  famous  Captain  Kidd  has  surren- 
dered liimself  to  the  Lord  Bellamont, 
governor  of  New  England.  Vol.  IV, 
p.  551. 

5  Sept.  1699.  Captain  Kidd  the  pyrate 
having  surrendered  himself  to  the  earl 
of  Bellamont,  governor  of  New  Eng- 
land, after  examination  was  committed 
to  prison  and  commissioners  appointed 
by  his  lordship  to  inspect  the  effects  he 

330 


APPENDIX   E 

had  on  board,  to  the  end  that  there  might 
be  a  true  inventory  taken  thereof:  and 
his  lordship  sent  to  the  said  commis- 
sioners the  present  of  Jewells,  which  Kidd 
had  caused  to  be  given  his  lady,  esteemed 
at  £10,000  an  account  of  which  his  lord- 
ship has  dispatched  hitherto  to  the  Com- 
missioners of  trade,  and  to  know  how  he 
shall  be  disposed  of.    Vol.  IV,  p.  557. 

23  Sept.  1699.  His  Majestie's  Ship  Roch- 
ester, Captain  Ellis,  commander,  is 
sailed  to  New  York,  to  bring  over  Cap- 
tain Kidd,  the  pyrate  and  his  men,  in 
order  to  be  tried  here.    Vol.  IV,  p.  563. 

26  Sept.  1699.  Last  week  the  old  East  In- 
dia company  attended  the  lords  justices 
with  a  petition,  humbly  praying  that 
Captain  Kidd  the  pyrate,  may  be 
brought  to  a  speedy  trial  before  the  high 
court  of  admiralty,  and  that  all  his  ef- 
fects unjustly  taken  from  the  subjects  of 
the  Great  Mogull  may  be  sent  back  to 
them  as    satisfaction    for    their    losses. 

331 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

Their  excellencies  promised  to  consider 
it.    Vol.  IV,  p.  564. 
2  Nov.  1G99.    The  trial  of  the  pyrates  is 
put  off  till  the  arrival  of  Captain  Kidd, 
who  is  to  be  brought  hither  from  New 
England  in  order  to  be  tried  with  them : 
his  effects  are  valued  at  £200,000.    Vol. 
IV,  p.  578. 
2  Dec.  1699.    The  lords  of  the  admiralty 
have  an  account  that  the  man  of  war 
sent  to  New  England  to  bring  hither 
Captain  Kidd,  the  pyrate,  is  returned, 
not  being  able  to  make  her  voyage,  the 
winter  being  too  far  advanced  in  those 
parts.    Vol.  IV,  p.  589. 
6  April  1700.    Last  night  the  lords  of  the 
admiralty  had  an  express  from  Bristoll 
that    Captain    Kidd,    with    33    pyrates 
more,  were  arrived  in  that  channel  from 
New  England,  in  order  to  be  tried  for 
robbing  the  subjects  of  the  Great  Mo- 
gull.    Vol.  IV,  p.  632. 
16  April   1700.    The    same    day    Captain 

332 


APPENDIX   E 

Kidd,  the  notorious  pyrate,  was  exam- 
ined before  the  lords  of  the  admiralty 
and  committed  to  Newgate:  and  yester- 
day 13  more  pyrates  were  likewise  ex- 
amined and  sent  thither.    Vol.  IV,  p.  634. 

23  April  1700.  Captain  Kidd  upon  his  pe- 
tition has  got  his  irons  taken  off.  Vol. 
IV,  p.  637. 

27  April  1700.  This  day  10  of  the  pyrates 
lately  brought  from  New  England  were 
examined  and  ordered  to  be  tried  by  a 
high  court  of  admiralty:  Captain  Kidd 
will  be  kept  close  prisoner  till  the  sitting 
of  the  Parhament,  to  the  end  that  they 
may  have  the  examination  of  him. 
Vol.  IV,  p.  638. 

23  July  1700.  The  jewels  taken  on  board 
the  ship  of  Captain  Kidd  the  pyi'ate, 
have  been  valued  and  said  to  be  worth 
£30,000.     Vol.  IV,  p.  669. 

27  March  1701.  This  day  the  commons  ex- 
amined Captain  Kidd  the  pyrate  and 
Cogi   Babba,   a   Persian   Merchant   at- 

333 


THE    REAL    CAPTAIN    KIDD 

tended  in  order  to  accuse  him  of  robbing 
him  in  those  seas  to  £60,000  value. 
Kidd  discovered  little  or  nothing.  Vol. 
V,  p.  32. 
1  April  1701.  Captain  Kidd  was  exam- 
ined again  yesterday :  he  confessed  noth- 
ing material,  so  was  remanded  to  New- 
gate.   Vol.  V,  p.  34. 

10  April  1701.  This  day  the  house,  being 
acquainted  that  Captain  Kidd  since  his 
being  in  Newgate,  had  been  with  the 
Lord  Hallifax,  examined  the  person 
who  affirmed  it  and  sent  for  the  keeper 
of  Newgate,  who  averred  it  to  be  false, 
whereupon  they  distrust  him.  Vol.  V, 
p.  37. 
1  May  1701.  Letters  yesterday  from 
New  York  advise  that  the  Earl  of  Bel- 
lamont,  governor  of  that  place  and  of 
New  England  dyed  the  .5th  of  ^larch  of 
the  gout  in  his  stomach.    Vol.  V,  p.  44. 

10    May    1701.    This    afternoon    Captain 
Kidd  was  found  guilty  of  murder  for 

334 


APPENDIX   E 

killing  a  seaman  on  board  a  ship,  also  of 
one  piracy:  and  to-morrow  will  be  tried 
upon  the  others.    Vol.  V,  p.  47. 

10  May  1701.  Capt.  Kidd  is  found  guilty 
upon  6  indictments  of  pyracy,  and  8 
other  pyrates  are  condemned.  Vol.  V, 
p.  48. 

24  May  1701.  Yesterday  Capt.  Kidd  and 
3  others  condemned  for  pyracy,  were  ex- 
ecuted at  execution  dock  at  Wapping. 
The  halter  of  the  1st  broke,  but  he  was 
tied  up  again.    Vol.  V,  p.  53. 


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